The Phoenix of Destiny
by godofmadness43
Summary: A highschooler rescues Kasumi, the Mugen Tenshi's exiled princess and shelters her. But as their time grows, a secret about Takashi's past will cause him to change and soon a firestorm of events will occur to test him and his friends. R&R plz!
1. Prologue

**And so my newest fanfiction has begun! I'd like to thank Project-z for liking my idea of a DoA fanfic and for the story 'Kunoichis Like Us' that helped inspire me to write this, as a reward for Project-z i shall add his OC into this story. Anyway, i hope you all enjoy the story, and R&R plz!

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**Dead or Alive: The Phoenix of Destiny**

**Prologue**

Kasumi jumped from tree branch to branch, her dark blue and white trimmed ninja outfit rustling against the night wind, even after the defeat of DOATEC and its scientist, Donovan, who the clan Kasumi was in before had taken a grudge against him for what he did for their clan, some Mugen Tenshi Clan members wanted her, after DOATEC and the scientist were taken out and focused their attention on Kasumi….well Ayane actually, the other ninjas backed off prior Hayate's orders, some with Ayane followed her, and Kasumi was also searching for ALPHA, who escaped during the explosion of the Tri-Tower of DOATEC and out there somewhere.

She prepared for another jump, but something jabbed her thigh, causing her to fall onto the concrete floor down below...

* * *

"Takashi, time to go to sleep!"

"Alright …mm…in a few more minutes…"

"Now Takashi!"

"O-Okay!" Takashi said as he shut down his laptop. If there was one thing he didn't want to do, it was piss off his brother. He quickly got under the covers and soon tried to get some sleep…a few restless minutes occurred but he couldn't sleep.

Hearing his brother snore loudly from the next room, he quickly started to pace around the living room thinking. He soon heard something crash outside, causing some dogs to bark outside and for Takashi to investigate.

* * *

The three ninjas looked around for any sign of the Kunoichi, but no avail.

"She must've escaped…let's check downtown," one said.

"Oi is someone there?" someone's voice called.

"Shit, run!" another ninja said and the three disappeared.

* * *

Takashi looked at the alley, seeing no one there but the garbage cans all on the ground. _'Man, my bro.'s going to kill me…' _he thought as he put the cans back in place. He then saw something red and looked at it. "Blood?" he muttered.

He saw some more droplets and followed where they originated and saw a girl with red hair, large breasts, torn clothes that made her look like a ninja, and saw she was bleeding and looked half conscious. "Oh man…I gotta help her," Takashi said as she brought the girl inside.

* * *

Takashi watched as the red head scarfed down the food on her plate with vigor, almost like she hadn't eaten in a week or so.

"Aah, thank you for the food, I really didn't eat anything all night," Kasumi said to him and his disbelief brother.

"Coming from the chick that ate three plates of food," Takashi mumbled to himself. Takashi had brought the girl in as his brother saw her in his arms, quickly took care of her injuries, and waited until she woke up a few minutes later and got hungry.

"No problem, miss…" Takashi wondered what her name was and stopped.

"It's…" Kasumi paused, wondering if she should tell them her name.

"Wait…aren't you Kasumi? From the first DOA tournament?" Takashi's brother, Tarou, asked her.

The Kunoichi nodded.

"Wait, _the_ Kasumi? Oh man I heard about you," Takashi said with a hint of surprise and admiration in his tone.

"Oh…really?" she asked them.

"Yeah, uh, I know this might seem strange, but..can I have your autograph?" Takashi said, quickly getting out a pen and what looked like a magazine with her on the cover that had the title of the first DoA tournament on it. Kasumi blinked, surprised by Takashi's behavior and the fact he knew about her and that there was a magazine for the tournament.

"Uh…sure, who am I making out this to?" Kasumi asked as she began t sigh the magazine.

"Takashi Kaido," Takashi said. Kasumi then stopped for a bit when she heard that last name, _'Kaido…wasn't there someone in the village with that name?'_ she wondered once she finished signing it. Takashi grinned, bowed politely then ran off to his room.

"He's a big fan of DoA…" his brother stated to the surprised kunoichi. Kasumi nodded and soon Takashi returned and sat across from Kasumi on the table.

" what were you doing in the alley?" Takashi asked her. Kasumi wanted to talk, but due to the code of never telling outsiders about her clan forced her to try a different explanation.

"How long until your clan finds you?" Takashi asked her suddenly, surprising her with how he knew about her clan.

"I don't know, your presence managed to drive them away for a bit, but they'll be back…" Kasumi said in a low but almost worried tone. Takashi felt concerned and held her hand, smiling a bit and nodded a little, "Don't worry, we'll protect you," he said, trying to reassure her.

Kasumi gasped softly, but what was she to do? She had been running for a long time, and yet this boy was willing to take her in despite all that. "But…what if they go after you?" Kasumi asked him.

"Don't be fooled by my appearance, I'm a pretty average fighter," Takashi smirked and jerked his thumb to point at himself, grinning. Kasumi sighed, seeing there was no way out of this now with them.

"Alright, I'll stay, but I don't want to be held responsible for anything that happens to you, ok?" she asked him and his brother.

"Got it," they both said nonchalantly. Kasumi sighed, wondering wat she got herself in to, ut after cleaning up the dishes, there came another problem:

Where was Kasumi going to sleep?

"Well she can sleep in mom and dad's room," Tarou suggested.

"B-But bro!" Takashi whined.

"Takashi…" Tarou said sternly and gave him 'the look'. Takashi sighed and shook his head, then turned to Kasumi.

"…fine…uh…you can sleep in my parent's room if you want," Takashi said and went to his room, feeling both enlightened and defeated. Kasumi looked at Takashi with a little smile, but still felt a little guilty for using him just so she could hide from Ayane and her clan, but…part of her felt that this would help get to know them better.

Kasumi smiled and nodded, "Thank you both," she said and went to the room that Takashi had given her, she heard coughing and glanced to noticed that Takashi's brother…Tarou was it? He was coughing rather violently, like he was sick or something. Takashi quickly got some pills and water and gave it to him.

The older brother swallowed it down and soon a few minutes later he was ok. Takashi sighed, "That was close…you sure you don't want to see a doctor?" Takashi asked him.

"All they do is give out meds that can't work with me…" Tarou muttered and wiped his mouth with a napkin. Kasumi's eyes caught the sight of something light red on the napkin, blood maybe? She couldn't see since Tarou threw the napkin in the garbage before she could see what it was.

"A-Anyway, let me show you your room Kasumi," Tarou said as he walked her to the room. The two reached a room and Kasumi found it was empty, the sheets looked like they weren't touched in a while and it had barely looked like it was used in a while. Kasumi felt a cold chill down her spine when she saw how the place seemed…empty. "It…feels empty," Kasumi noted.

"Yeah…our dad's in the hospital in a coma…and our mom's…no longer with us, it's just me and Takashi…" Tarou said.

"Oh dear…forgive me, I didn't mean to bring up bad memories," Kasumi apologized.

"It's cool, we got over it, plus with Takashi at school and all, at least he'll get a better paying job to help pay for the hospital bills…" Tarou said dearly, then left the kunoichi alone in the room. Kasumi sat on the bed, noting how cold it felt, the sheets were almost like they hadn't been changed in a while, but it still looked as if it was ready for someone to come in.

"Hey Kasumi, just wanted to see if you need anything," Takashi said as he poked his head in the room.

"Oh, thank you, I'm ok for now," Kasumi said and smiled softly to him. Takashi blushed, having come under the effects of one of Kasumi's warm smiles and turned his head.

"O-oh, no p-problem Kasumi," He said with a blush on his face and a weak smile.

"Well, n-night," he said and left her alone in the room. He went to his room and quickly dialed his cell-phone to call his friend, "Yo, Shun, you are not gonna believe what I have to tell you…no I haven't found a hot girl…well actually yeah but you got to listen," he then began to tell of what just occurred and shun was surprised.

"Yeah I know, right? It's like a dream come true…well no I just met her…I don't know yet! But anyway, what should I do?" Takashi asked him.

_"I say go for it, you helped her out, plus you took her in and became her guardian, she'll have to repay you somehow, like maybe be your guardian, dude, you've been living alone in that house with not even a parental figure asides from your bro, you should take this chance while you still got it," _Shun's voice said over the cell.

"Well…maybe…" Takashi shrugged. The sound of yawning from the other line gave Takashi a good hint to stop the conversation there, the two said night and hung up, with Takashi flopping onto his bed. He chewed over what Shun suggested, it seemed to be an idea, still, would Kasumi go for it. He thought of this until he eventually fell asleep, Kasumi had already been asleep once she changed into more appropriate sleep attire, having the first night of safety and sleep in a bed before in a long time.

* * *

**And so it begins! What will happen to Takashi now that Kasumi is here? and how will this affect him personally? stay tuned to find out how it all goes down, and R&R plz!**


	2. Fights and Enrollment?

**Heya everyone, here's chapter 2 like i asked, thank you for the reviews (even if it is just one) but i'm glad you were able to like my story. so enjoy!**

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**Chapter 1: Fights and Enrollments**

Takashi yawned as he walked from school the next day with his buddies.

"Yo Taka, you ok?" Kenji, a boy with light brown hair in a bowl cut and brown eyes asked.

"Yeah, just sleepy is all," Takashi said tiredly.

"You really need to get more sleep bro. otherwise you'll never be able to pick up any girls," Daichi, a slightly short boy with glasses, shaggy black hair and green eyes replied.

"Why would girls be interested in me Daichi? Look at me, who would ever fall for a guy like me?" Takashi asked him in a depressed tone.

"You should be more positive man, one day you'll get a girl," Kenichi said reassuringly.

"Ri-ight," Takashi said sarcastically.

"Oi Takashi!" a voice called out. All three boys froze and turned to face a small group of goons, with the leader being big, brawny and looked tough.

"Shit…Kinjo…" Takashi sighed. Kinjo was the bully of the school and one who regularly picked on Takashi and his friends…and anyone really.

"You think you and yo' friends are gonna leave without a goodbye eh?" Kinjo asked, trying to imitate an American gangster.

"Dude, we don't want any trouble, so let us go…" Daichi said. At that moment all three started to get ready to run incase Kinjo tried to go after them, which looked like it was going to occur in the next five seconds. The trio looked at each other and soon took off with Kinjo hot on their tail. For five minutes they ran a few blocks and when they crossed an intersection, making it as the cars starts to drive, cutting off Kinjo, they made refuge behind in an alley.

"Phew…we were nearly dead back there…." Kenichi said as the three panted by the side of the wall.

"Thank god I'm a good runner…" Takashi said with a pant. Daichi was keeping an eye out for Kinjo by the curb. He started back to the others, "Ok, look like they're gone-" Daichi's sudden disappearance caused the two to look and see Kinjo's goons beating him up and prompted the two to charge in retaliation.

The three were rather skilled in kendo class and some Tae Kwon Do mixed in with close-quarters-combat they saw in some American movies their parents had gotten them…and some Bruce Lee movies too they found from some pawn shops, but against a group like Kinjo, they lasted a good minute or two before getting their butts beat. As Kinjo walked away proudly, Takashi growled, fumed, and limped back home, with his friends' dong the same…after getting some sodas for the swelling.

"Man…they didn't have to hit that hard…" Daichi moaned, spitting some blood as he did.

"Well Takashi managed to stop him with that kick to the balls and punch on his face" Kenichi said with a chuckle, showing one of his teeth knocked out. Takashi grinned, using the soda to cool down; it was true, Takashi punched Kinjo after hitting his crotch, but that giant managed to get him, causing him to gag after pummeling him for a minute.

It took all his goons that weren't on the ground to pry him off Takashi, and Kinjo swore tomorrow they'd finish it, "…And next time, only one of us is gonna come back in one piece," were the words Kinjo said. Takashi knew Kinjo since middle school, even then he was still a jerk, hell when he said '_one of them would make it back in one piece'_ usually it meant he'd fight to the death, and he always won.

He had been in juvy for most of middle school and high school, but when he got back everyone was scared, hell before he was so bad he killed three guys once, and that was just too far in the asshole section of boyhood. Takashi sighed, his dad had taught him most of the moves he learned, and was told to try and stay away from the person he fought, but Kinjo was different, he would find Takashi wherever he went, and he couldn't hide from him.

Takashi walked home…well limped more like, and hoped Kasumi or his brother weren't home. Unfortunately for Takashi, they were home, talking about something while drinking tea, that's when Kasumi saw Takashi and soon her face got all worried as the two helped him sit and Tarou got some ice.

"Kinjo did that to you? Man…thought he'd be in jail by now…" Tarou mumbled.

"Yeah, thought I could escape him when we transferred schools, but forget he goes home the same way I do after school…" Takashi said as he put the ice pack on his cheek.

"You poor thing…" Kasumi said and saw blood on his knuckles, "Is that yours?" she asked him.

"Kinjo, kicked him in the nuts and punched his face while he still reeled in pain," Takashi said with a grin.

"Alright! I knew those movies of dad's worked!" Tarou said triumphantly.

"Yeah, and tomorrow Kinjo will kill me since he'll think that blow I did to him was a cheap punch," Takashi mumbled and went to his room.

While Takashi went to his room, Kasumi wondered what she could do to help Takashi out.

"Tomorrow, why don't you follow him afterschool?" Tarou suggested, noticing Kasumi's expression. The idea seemed like a good one at that, and that way she could learn more about Takashi's life.

"Hmm…good idea…do…you happen to have any spare clothes?" she asked him.

"Mom's closet, packed with some old clothes, tries those," Tarou said as he casually flipped on the TV.

* * *

Takashi sighed as he and his friends walked the next day, now afraid about Kinjo…and depressed a little from the wounds they got.

"Anyone saw Daichi lately?" Takashi wondered aloud.

"Don't know, maybe he-" Kenichi froze when the two walked around the corner and saw their pal all beaten, bruised and bleeding from Kinjo's goons.

"You son of a bitch!" Takashi yelled.

"Oh? What'cha gonna do about it? Call you dad and have him arrest me again? You know that he hasn't been around after he got in that coma, tch, asshole deserved it," Kinjo said. That's when they froze, and Takashi's head was hung low.

"…What did you just say…about my dad?" Takashi asked slowly.

"Uh boss…maybe you should stop…" one of his goons said worriedly.

"Nu-uh, Taka, you were a whimp when it came to your dad, using him as a shield, but after he got into that coma like that, I grew to respect you after you became a sort of lone wolf badass kinda guy, so Whaddya say? Join with me and ditch these guys?" Kinjo asked.

"…Fuck. You. Kinjo…" Takashi responded slowly. Kinjo sighed as one of his goons let go of Daichi.

"Alright Taka, didn't want to do this, come with me…alone…" Kinjo said. Kenichi went to nurse Daichi, knowing Takashi would be ok, and the two groups left. No one saw the shadow follow Takashi and Kinjo's group from atop the buildings.

* * *

"Wow…your hideout is here? Real original…" Takashi said sarcastically. They were under the train tracks over by the river, like in animes and mangas Takashi watched.

"Oi, don't blame us ok! Now, we're gonna finish that fight here and now, ya' hear?" Kinjo yelled. The two were surrounded by Kinjo's goons, all hollering for a fight. Takashi had been taught to only fight when needed by his father, or to protect his friends or those close to him, but now…this wasn't going to end well for Takashi.

Narrowly dodging a fist by Kinjo helped him formulate a plan, and soon jabbed Kinjo in the gut with his elbow, gave him an uppercut in the jaw and kicked him. Kinjo stumbled, spitting out blood from the corner of his mouth, and then charged like a bull. Takashi held his ground and the two were locked in a struggle for dominance, pushing each other back to get a chance to wail on them. Kinjo soon overpowered Takashi and threw against a wall, then rammed his fist into his gut.

Takashi gagged and crumpled to the ground in pain, holding his stomach from the force of the punch. Kinjo was prepared, as were his gang, to beat the living crap out of Takashi. Suddenly, in a blur of color, the goons were down onto the ground. Takashi looked, wondering what the heck happened, when he felt someone help him up and saw it was Kasumi, still in her ninja outfit, only it looked brand new.

"What the-? How'd you get here?" Takashi asked her.

"Long story…but you need to rest," Kasumi told him gently, it still had the feeling of an order, but still sounded like something of concern.

"Hey, you bitch!" Kinjo yelled "You hurt my gang you fucking bitch! Who the fuck do you think you are?" he hollered.

"Leave him and his friends alone" Kasumi said sternly to Kinjo. The bully yelled and charged at her with the intent on killing her. Takashi watched and soon saw Kasumi land a blow on his elbow, knee and stomach in a quick movement. Takashi just stood in awe at what he saw, even though he had moderate training in fighting, he managed to take on people, but Kasumi…she was on a different playing field…no…she was on a different planet than Takashi.

Kinjo fell to the ground, writhing in pain when Kasumi grabbed him by the collar. "If you value your life of you and your gang, you will stop bugging Takashi and his friends, as well as the other students at your school," Kasumi stated in a cold tone, it sounded strange to Takashi to hear her say something in that tone, one that demanded attention and if you didn't do what it meant, you'd be dead.

Kinjo fell to the ground when Kasumi let go, the kunoichi going to Takashi. "Are you hurt? Did he hurt you badly?" she asked, looking over him.

"I'm fine, just a few bruises, nothing some ice won't fix," Takashi said modestly. Kinjo soon started to laugh, one of arrogance and cruelty.

"Oh man, Taka I knew you were a wimp, but you actually need a girl to fight your fights?" Kinjo asked as he got up. "When…the school hears about this…oh man…you're gonna be so dead!" Kinjo said and cackled.

"Yeah, and I bet they'll also enjoy the part about when a _girl_ kicked your butt, I'm sure they'd love to hear that," Takashi replied with a grin. Kinjo let out a roar of anger and was going to charge at him, but remembering Kasumi being there he stopped and sighed.

"Fine…" he grumbled.

"Good…" Kasumi said as she helped support Takashi, "And remember this:" Kasumi turned to him, "I'll watching you…" she said. Kinjo lowered his head in defeat and sighed, while Takashi and Kasumi left him to grovel in his own defeat.

* * *

"Damn Kasumi…were you always this good?" Takashi asked her once they reached home.

"I trained myself so yes," Kasumi said as she applied some peroxide to Takashi's wounds. Despite the searing pain, Takashi held on.

"I could've taken him…" Takashi mumbled.

"If you did, you would've died Takashi…" Kasumi stated. Takashi wanted to say something, but she was right about that, so he stayed silent.

"I'm not weak…" Takashi replied in a low tone.

"I know you're not…you fought well today Takashi…" Kasumi said in a soft and sweet tone. Takashi had taken one glance at her face and his heart melted from just looking. How could he be so sour in front of her?

"Kasumi, how did you get those cleaned anyway?" Takashi asked her.

"Oh, I washed them yesterday…" Kasumi said simply. Takashi looked at her with a confused look on his face and blinked.

"How did my brother get you replacement clothes?" Takashi asked her.

"Mother's closet, don't worry I left it intact," Kasumi said. Now Takashi was going to kick Tarou's butt whenever he found him.

"I'm gonna be in my room," Takashi finally blurted out and went to his room. Kasumi watched him go and sighed, Tarou told Kasumi a bit about themselves and Takashi, but when it came to a discussion with their parents, he stopped and changed the subject, saying, "It's something a little too touchy for us," but the expression was of a painful memory that the elder brother didn't want to remember.

Kasumi looked at the door that lead to Takashi's room, "Takashi…what goes on in your head?" she muttered.

* * *

The next day, Takashi was walking to school; Kasumi said she had to get something from home, but didn't explain what she needed, and Tarou didn't know either.

'_Wonder what goes on in that chick's mind?'_ Takashi wondered as he and his co. went to school. Daichi still hurt from Kinjo's gang jumping him, but thankfully he bounced back fast.

"Don't worry about it, makes me look tough," Daichi said to them with a grin, despite his black eye and a missing tooth. Takashi sighed, Daichi was always the joker of their group, Takashi was the leader, and Kenichi was the one with the plans. They had once been four, with Shun being the strong on despite him not looking the part, actually, he was the good looking one of the group.

Takashi then wondered how their former fourth was doing since he graduated from high school a year ago, leaving his friends to their last year of school. Shun graduated a year earlier and now was working at his folk's video store, home of many Japanese movies, even a couple of English ones too. The three remaining friends were all nearing the last months of school, which meant exams and a whole lot of school work.

"Yo Taka, you ok? You're zoning out again, well more than usual," Daichi asked.

"Huh? Oh yeah, been thinking," Takashi said. They reached the school and later were in first period. Kinjo made good on his word and didn't bother Takashi or anyone else; in fact, he was to be transferred into another school later in the week. Now Takashi just stared out the window with boredom, today was gonna be another boring day…

Or at least that's what he expected…

"Class, today we are welcoming a new student to our class, I expect you to be nice to her, especially the boys!" the teacher said to them, emphasizing the "boy" part of his speech. Now Takashi was curious, new girl huh? But…why did he get a weird feeling in his gut something was off about all this?

The door open an soon a girl stepped in, that's when Takashi took notice as to _who_ it was. It was Kasumi, only her hair was tied in a braided ponytail and she wore fake glasses on, she had on a schoolgirl outfit that seemed to fit her nicely.

"Hello, my name is Fumiko Akahana, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," she said. While a few murmurs were going on the teacher had given Kasumi a seat next to Takashi, with some of the class was noting how beautiful she was.

"Dude…she's so freaking hot…" some boy muttered.

Kasumi sat down and smiled when she looked at Takashi.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Kaido," she said smiling. Takashi was a bit dumbfounded, but he nodded, how the heck could Kasumi be here?

'_We're going to have a long talk when lunch comes…_' Takashi thought as he glanced at the kunoichi, who was already starting to work on the school work the teacher assigned.

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**Yeah, i know this sounds similar to 'Kunoichi's Like Us" but trust me, the school thing is temporary, it'll start to get into the action in later chapters i promise, anyway, R&R plz!**


	3. Discussions and Friends

**Here comes chapter 2 everyone! And this one will include a little humor on my part, and some other stuff too, anywya, thanks for the reviews, now, enjoy!**

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**Chapter 2: Discussions and Friends**

Once lunch period arrived and Takashi slipped a message to Kasumi to meet her under the walkway where no one would see them. He sighed as he bit into the sandwich he made, wondering where Kasumi was. 'Where is she?' he wondered as he glanced around.

"Sorry I'm late Takashi, there were many guys asking about if they wanted to go out with me, so I ran a bit late," Kasumi said as she suddenly popped up behind him, causing him to freak out and do a humorous attempt at a karate stance.

"Kasumi! Please…please don't scare me like that ok?" Takashi said with a hand over his heart, gasping from the shock of her appearing out of nowhere. Kasumi giggled cutely and smiled, putting her hands behind her back as she did.

"Ok I'll warn you next time Takashi," she said with a giggle.

"Anyway, where did you get those clothes? And why are you here?" He asked her.

"These I had for a while, and like I told you, you protected me, so I'm going to return the favor by being by your side not only as your friend, but guardian as well" Kasumi explained.

"I can see that, and you think fake glasses, braiding your hair and changing your name would work?" Takashi asked.

"Did anyone suspect me as Kasumi yet? From what I have heard, they haven't, so yes, it will work," Kasumi stated with a cute little grin on her face.

Takashi sighed, defeated by the kunoichi at his own game, "Fine…still, how in the hell did you get the papers to transfer here anyway?" Takashi asked.

"Let's just say I had come prepared for this situation if it ever occurred," Kasumi said.

Again, Takashi was beat, Kasumi-2, Takashi-0.

"Fine, you win…again…still, don't you think you might draw attention to yourself here?" Takashi asked her in a concerned tone.

"Takashi, I swore to protect you as my kunoichi to pay off the debt of kindness you gave me, I can handle some guys if they even try to peep at me, besides, this disguise on, no one knows who I am except you and your brother," Kasumi explained.

Before Takashi could interject, he saw someone who saw Kasumi, then yelled, "there she is!" and then got swarmed by kids, boy and girls alike to ask her questions. Takashi realized they'd talk later about this and was going to leave, Kenichi quickly pulled him aside.

"Dude, Fumiko is smoking hot, look, she's already got a fan-base online and its growing!" Kenichi said as he pulled out his laptop, showing Takashi the statistics. The fan base page was where people from the school went on to see who was the hottest guy/girl in school and that thing, apparently Kasumi, or rather her Fumiko disguise, was up and already growing in the charts.

"You see? This is only a few hours after she got here!" Kenichi said. Takashi sighed and was going to walk away, "You know, I just noticed something," Kenichi said. Takashi looked lazily and soon had a magazine in his hands, it was the contestants for the Dead or Alive Tournament and some brief bios of the people in it.

Takashi had to admit, he'd seen the tournament a few times, usually he liked some of the contestants, like Tina Armstrong, who was probably the hottest chick there, and there was also some other people, but one included Kasumi in a white and red trimmed version of the outfit Takashi found her in fighting a black guy in body armor and shades.

"Doesn't Fumiko look like Kasumi? They could be twins," Kenichi said.

Takashi shrugged, _'I just hope no one figures out who she really is…'_ Takashi thought. Apparently no one suspected a thing, and by the end of the day she had friends, admirers, and no one suspected she was even Kasumi, although there were some people who commented on it, Kasumi just joked and said she 'got told that a lot of times'.

Takashi decided to go to Shun's video store, where he found the young adult at the counter finishing off a purchase. Shun was a young man, he had shaggy black hair, a piercing on his left ear, tired brown eyes, tanned skin with a bit of a beard growing, and was wearing a black open hoodie with a grey shirt underneath, a rather expensive watch on his wrist that looked silver, and a necklace with what looked like a cross on it.

Shun noticed his friend and waved him over, "Yo, Taka! Been a while man, how ya' been?" Shun asked, pounding his friend's fist.

"Fine, say, you busy now?" Takashi asked.

"Well…" Shun rolled his eyes and glanced at the clock, "Now I am," he said as he went to a red door that led to the back of the store with Takashi following. The back of the store was rather, well, homely, for the store, it was a bit dusty, there was a small table with some chairs and some boxes with a TV mounted on it and a fridge.

Hard to believe that this was the back of the store.

"So Taka, anything new?" Shun asked him as he sat in the chair. Takashi had told him about Kasumi earlier, so Shun was ok with knowing their secret.

"So she's enrolled at your school now? Lucky…" Shun mused a bit.

"Focus Shun, I don't know about you, but this might be a bad idea for Kasumi, I mean, what if someone from her clan figures this out?" Takashi wondered.

"Well she's a DoA champ so she can defend herself, and I'm sure that her clan won't go after her without risking themselves," Shun stated.

"True…but I don't think she'll want me in the crossfire either way…" Takashi said.

"Don't worry man, you got that training your old man gave you, remember? Not to mention you're strong…in your own way, I'm sure you two will be fine," Shun said, playfully wrapping his hand around his buddy's shoulder and smirking.

Sighing, Takashi got out of his friend's grip and got up, "Right, right…be careful ok?" Takashi said to him.

"I will, and good luck with your girlfriend troubles!" Shun said to him with a cheesy grin.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Takashi yelled, now angry at that comment. Shun smirked and did the 'come over here and make me' sign with his hand. Takashi smirked and rushed to him to deliver a punch to his chest. The next few minutes were of the two friends fighting each other, they did this occasionally to test their skills, before Takashi would get the bruises, but now Shun was the one starting to get the bruises.

"Damn Taka…you've been working out a lot more haven't you?" Shun asked as he held his arm in pain from the blow it got.

"No duh, at least it's enough to keep some of those bullies and the occasional random thug off of me," Takashi said as he wiped of some sweat from his forehead, rustling his hair up to get the sweat that accumulated in it off of him.

"Well, I don't know about that, but you'll probably last against a ninja for a bit, maybe injure them too," Shun stated.

"I'm not the one to injure…let alone fight Shun," Takashi said as he got on his jacket.

"oh come on dude, you've been training a lot more recently since Kinjo nearly killed you," Shun stated. Takashi's eyebrows rose form that comment, he didn't tell anyone about that…unless…

"Tarou…" Takashi growled softly when he figured it out.

"Yep, Kasumi helped you from what she told him, he insisted you work on your technique a bit more," Shun stated. Takashi huffed and walked out the door, intent on seriously maiming his brother once he got home.

"Tarou is so screwed…" Shun said as he flicked on the TV with a smirk as he saw his friend left with the intent on hurting his brother.

* * *

**Lol, Tarou is gonna get burned by Takashi for this, and the fan-base thing is gonna be a part of all this, you'll see soon enough. Anyway R&R plz**


	4. Memories of the Past

**Here's the chapter, fresh off MS Word ^^ this one will explain a bit more about Takashi's life and hints about future events that will occur in the story, oh and the first few paragraphs about the fan-base stuff is from some anime i've seen that usually include the hot girl with her fan-base and guys getting jealous of the guy she's with...just read the chap to understand!**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Memories of the Past**

Takashi sighed, bored out of his mind now, it was only a week since Kasumi had 'moved in' and he was starting to adjust to her being around…ok maybe not as much as he wanted. Kasumi had pretty much gotten an entire fan-club based around her at school, followers and everything, Takashi even sarcastically suggest they build a temple to worship her, thankfully they didn't go that far…yet.

Takashi had read a lot of manga to know of the signs of worship for someone like Kasumi, right now the fan-club would start out small, but then it would increase sooner or later. Then again, Takashi wondered if he should lay off the manga. Speaking of which, he was now reading an old magazine about the DoA tournament held a while back. He was looking at the pictures of each of the fighters and them fighting other fighters.

Takashi always did like the DoA series, and he was actually liking how Kasumi, the winner of the first tournament, was living with him. Shun said it was a guy's dream come true, and Takashi had to agree with him. Thinking about this, it also brought back some old memories of his life before the accident with his folks. His dad was always nice, and also good with martial arts, how he was so good Takashi could only guess. His mother was really nice, and sweet too…actually he had a hard time remembering her, he didn't know why but his memories of his early life were a large blur.

He closed the magazine and walked to the window in his room. He sighed and recalled earlier in the week when he got ambushed by some guy from their school, he had forgotten his name, but the look of his face, which was…seriously ugly, had forever burned in his brain. But Takashi managed to give the guy a beat down and let him live.

Unfortunately the next day he and his pals, along with Kasumi, in her Fumiko disguise, who wanted to meet Takashi's friends herself to get to know them better, were ambushed by more of those same guys, who were part of Fumiko's little fan group, wanted the group dead but to spare Kasumi. Kasumi wanted to fight, but she'd risk blowing her cover, so she pretended to be frightened a bit but Takashi and the gang stood between the groupies and her.

Whether it was to show how strong they were to Kasumi/Fumiko, or to just show they were the "good guys", the three young men all attacked the group. A few minutes later they retreated all injured and bruised, vowing for vengeance. While Kasumi was surprised they managed to fight the groupies off, the only time she participated as when one of them got behind her to do…whatever they were going to do to her.

Kasumi had accidently punched the guy in the gut, threw him over her and kicked him in the face. Needless to say the guys were impressed by this, but Takashi got worried about this, thankfully Kasumi told them that in her old schools, she had learned how to fight just in case some pervert might take advantage of her. Actually, Takashi thought about it and it would make a lot of sense, knowing of her and her clan.

Takashi looked at Kasumi as she washed the dishes, humming a tune with a content look on her face. Takashi had a weird feeling from this picture, to is perspective, it looked…homely, like that of a family.

"I take it you noticed it too huh?" Tarou said as he popped up next to his brother.

"Yeah…she looks…well…she reminds me of mom," Takashi said while still staring at Kasumi.

"I know, right?" Tarou said and was staring at Kasumi's rear, "Damn…got a nice ass…I'd say you're one lucky man if you can get her bro," he smirked and nudged his brother with a grin.

Takashi blushed and huffed, turned away so he couldn't see the blush on face that was creeping up on his face. He glanced at Kasumi, admiring her figure of her body, in his eyes, her figure was perfect, well maybe near-perfect, not like Tina Armstrong's figure, but it was close to it.

Takashi went to the couch and turned on the TV of the living room. The house itself had a Westernized feel to it, it was a two story house, the first floor had a living room that made of the first floor with a large TV and a few video game systems in it, It included a large beige couch with foot stools and a rug, next to it was the bathroom and laundry room and a den. The second floor was the main room of the house, as it had a kitchen on one part of it and the living room on the other, the living room being the main room on the floor.

It had a much large window and some plants next to it for light, along with some on the porch outside. The hallway had lead to another bathroom, and four rooms, one being Takashi and Tarou's parent's room, the second Tarou's room, third was Takashi's room, and the last was a spare guest room. There was also the hatch that led to the attic, which had some old stuff from their dad's old past in a large trunk, but they couldn't open it without a key.

"Takashi, is something wrong?" Kasumi asked as she leaned forward a bit, a curious look on his face.

"Oh, it's nothing Kasumi, just thinking about the last DoA tournament," Takashi lied. Kasumi looked at Takashi, she knew they had been talking about her, in her village, she was the princess of the village, and her sister, Ayane, was considered the demon child and shunned by everyone.

"Do you miss your family Kasumi?" Takashi asked, noticing her expression being a solemn one.

"…Yes…I want to see them…my mother, my brother and sister, but…with me on the run…" Kasumi muttered softly. A warm pair of hands made her realize that Takashi was hugging her, whether out of sympathy or she wouldn't have to cry, she didn't know, but she enjoyed it all the same.

She slowly returned the hug back and smiled, nuzzling her head on his shoulder, "Thank you…Takashi-kun…" Kasumi said softly to his ear. Takashi blushed, but smiled and nuzzled his head back, sniffing her hair, getting the scent of strawberries in his nose.

"Mmm…" Takashi hummed as he sniffed her some more. Kasumi didn't stop him, she knew he was harmless, only wanting to make sure she didn't cry.

"Takashi…you can stop now…I'm better," Kasumi told him. Takashi let her go as Kasumi fixed up her light pink shirt and dark blue sweat pants from the hug. Takashi blushed a bit red from the hug, although he did enjoy hugging her, and the feel of her breasts pressing on him was a bit of an enjoyable feeling for him, it was a while since he got a hug before, and to feel that warm from hugging Kasumi had made him miss his mom a bit.

"Kasumi…I wanna ask you something…why did you choose to live with me anyway?" Takashi asked her.

"Well, at first I was going to leave once I recovered, but…when I heard of your plight, I wanted to help you out a bit…" Kasumi began.

"Oh…I see…then why didn't you leave…wait…is this because of your clan?" Takashi asked her.

Kasumi nodded, "Yes…but your last name…this might be strange, but in my clan's village, there was a family there who were masters of using _Nippon_, which is a form of ninjutsu that we can use the elements with or cast certain spells. The family's father was the greatest Fire _Nippon_ Master that we dubbed him , "Phoenix", he left the village to live in the city with his family from what I was told." Kasumi explained to him.

"So you think that after hearing my last name, that my family was part of your clan in the past?" Takashi asked her.

"I don't know exactly, it's just a hunch, but maybe…" Kasumi said. Takashi looked at his hand, staring at it intently, as if thinking.

"Then…maybe if that's true…if he's really one of your clan…why would he hide it?" Takashi wondered.

"Well, our clan's lifestyle is very secretive…if anyone know about us who aren't in our clan, they're…well…silenced…" Kasumi shuddered when she said this. "It's to assure our people aren't hunted or killed…then there's the other clans to deal with," Kasumi stated.

"I see…and why tell me this?" Takashi asked her.

"Well, you'd technically be part of our clan, so I guess telling this to you wouldn't hurt," Kasumi smiled softly.

While the two were talking of this, Tarou was listening in on the two in the hallway, he sighed and looked at the mirror hanging on the wall. "Dad…do you really want Takashi to become what he truly is? If he does he can't go back to living a normal life…" he said to his reflection. He stared intensely at his own reflection for a few minutes before sighing, "Alright then…guess I'll have to tell him soon then…" he muttered.

He looked at Takashi, who was talking to Kasumi and enjoying the conversation, Tarou shook his head as he walked down the hallway.

'_I only hope he can be able to handle it once he steps into your world Kasumi…'_ he thought with a sad look on his face as he went into his room.

* * *

**Seems like Tarou's hiding something, and what happened in Takashi's past, could his last name really be that important? Stay tuned to find out, and don't worry, the action is gonna come soon! R&R plz!**


	5. the Meeting

**Sorry for the short chapter, but i promise the next one will be longer, and action packed! Anyway, enjoy the chapter ^^**

* * *

**Chapter 4: the Meeting**

Meanwhile, in the Mugen Tenshi village, a young man with brown hair that hung down to his shoulders with a bandana wrapped around his head, wearing a white and blue ninja suit that had a kanji on the back, as well as a sword on his back. Hayate, the clan's leader and Kasumi's brother, looked at the two ninja before him.

One was completely garbed in black, with only his eyes visible, anyone who knew who this man was knew of his reputation. Ryu Hayabusa was a man of legendary proportions in the ninja world, and it was a good thing he was friends with the Mugen Tenshi clan, otherwise it would be dangerous to cross Ryu's path.

The second ninja was a female garbed in a purple ninja suit that had a butterfly motif on it. She had pink hair with a purple sash wrapped around her forehead, her young child-like face was contrasted by the fact she had a surprisingly buxom figure for someone so young. This girl was Ayane, the supposed 'Demon Child' of the village, and half-sister of Kasumi.

"Lord Hayate, I'm sorry, but we lost track of Kasumi…" Ayane said as she bowed before the leader.

"It's alright Ayane, at least you had managed to tail her as long as you did," Hayate said in a reassuring tone.

"By the way, I had actually seen Kasumi with a young man just the other day," Ryu said to Hayate.

"Wait, a boy?" Hayate asked him, now concerned for his sister's safety.

"Yes, I observed them from the shadows, the boy's name is Takashi Kaido, lives with his brother Tarou Kaido in a family sized house. Apparently from what I heard from some of the parents of the kids who go to his school, Kasumi had enrolled under a false name Fumiko Akahana, I questioned them further about the girl and knew it was Kasumi," Ryu explained.

"Strange, why would she attend school with some nobody like him?" Ayane muttered while having her hand in a thinking position.

"I don't know…wait, that boy's last name…you said it was 'Kaido' right?" Hayate asked Ryu.

"You noticed that too, I wondered myself as to why he had the last name of the famous Fire _Ninpo _master in the village," Ryu stated.

"Hmm…Ayane, I want you to go find out more about Takashi and see if Kasumi is safe, only engage if you have to, I don't want an innocent bystander getting killed, got it?" Hayate ordered to her.

"Yes Lord Hayate," Ayane said and soon disappeared in a purple blur. Hayate nodded as the other clan ninja all left, but Ryu remained for some reason.

"I take it you wish to know about the Kaido family?" Ryu asked him.

"Yes…I don't think its coincidence that he has the last name as 'Phoenix' but…if it turns out he's a member of our clan…then maybe he can get Kasumi home safely…" Hayate said as he sat down.

"Yes…that would be beneficial for all of us…still, we should be careful," Ryu stated.

"Right…any news on ALPHA or Donovan?" Hayate asked him.

"Nothing new, but I have a sick feeling that something is going to happen, something we might not be able to comprehend…" Ryu muttered.

"What do you mean?" Hayate asked him.

"I fear that something is coming…something terrible...still…we need to be careful," Ryu stated.

"Right…and I pray that it doesn't happen Ryu…now, let's go find out more about that Kaido family…" Hayate said as he got up and went to the clan's library to hunt for the information they needed. The two ninja couldn't shake the feeling that a dark ominous cloud was gathering, and soon a storm would break loose on all of them, but who would be the ones standing once it was over? Who knew?

* * *

**Well it looks like Ayane is gonna go after Kasumi and Takashi, and as for Takashi, just what is going on with his family? (or what's left of it) What secrets does his family hold? Stay tuned**


	6. Battles and revealed feelings

**Heh, here's an extra special long chap for you guys! This one will include a character from a friend of mine, Project-z, this is for you man!**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Battles and Meetings and Revealed Feelings**

"Wait, you're leaving soon, where?" Shun asked as he took a sip of his soda to his friend.

"Taka Valley…" Takashi mumbled and finished drinking his soda. The two friends were at Shun's place, the apartment was pretty well-kept after, its living room was small with a couch and a small TV across the couch and dining table, which had a bunch of random things from papers to electronics. The kitchen housed a fridge with some Chinese food and some other foods, the sink had a couple of dishes drying and a few in the sink unwashed. There was a room that led to Shun's bedroom, but Takashi didn't want to go there at all.

"That place? Why you want to go there?" Shun asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"I don't know…but I feel…free when I'm there, you know?" Takashi said as he finished off his soda.

"Uh…right…remind me to never try whatever it is that you smoke Taka…" Shun smirked and drank his drink more. A crushed, empty can thrown at him was the answer from Takashi as he got up and fixed his jacket. The young man was wearing a grey jacket with a hawk on the back that was extending its wings out, the shirt under it was a wolf's head with gold eyes, he wore loose fitting black pants and black sneakers to finish the outfit.

"Where do you get those hawk shirts anyway?" Shun asked him as his friend headed to the door.

"I'm one of a kind" Takashi smirked, his gold eyes flashing a bit with his grin and left his buddy alone in the apartment.

* * *

Takashi and Kasumi both sat next to each other on the train to the station nearest to Taka Valley, the car they were in was empty, save for those two. Kasumi looked around the car, Takashi noticed that she seemed nervous, like something bad was going to happen to her.

"Don't worry Kasumi, if anything happens, I'll protect you," Takashi said to her, trying to calm her down and reassure her. Kasumi smiled, feeling a bit reassured from his word and hugged his arm lightly, resting her head on his shoulder. Takashi blushed a bit from this, but smiled, enjoying how soft her skin felt. He felt…happy with Kasumi around, and cherished the time they had after school, he didn't want to reveal his growing feeling to the kunoichi, for fear of having them interfere with her life of hiding from her clan.

Takashi then began to think of how much Kasumi changed his life, since she came around Takashi wasn't all emo or itching for a fight, it felt like the fire in his heart was smothered into an ember, and his somewhat cold personality warmed up. At school a few of the girls noticed this and began to chat with him and his friends, much to everyone's surprise, soon Takashi had gotten more friends than just the three friends he usually had.

Shun had noticed Takashi mellowed out more than usual, he even seemed happy for once in his life. He then remembered the conversation he had a day or two ago with Shun at his apartment.

* * *

**Flashback**

"_Ok Takashi, spill it, what did Kasumi do to you that made you this mellow? Was it some kind of ninja trick?" Shun asked as he sat across from Takashi in a chair._

"_I don't know man…ever since she came here I've…felt different lately…" Takashi said as he looked at his hand._

"_Yeah, I mean before you were a mess, I mean, after what happened to your folks…" Shun began but stopped, having hit a old wound of his friend's._

"_Don't…please, don't mention that ok?" Takashi said, his head tilted and eyes shut, trying to block out the painful memories of what had occurred._

"_Sorry, I forgot about how hard that was…" Shun apologized._

"_It's cool…" Takashi mumbled and stared at the ground._

_**End Flashback**_

* * *

Takashi sighed and closed his eyes slowly, talking about his family was a personal and touchy subject for him. Kasumi had noticed this whenever she asked about his family, Tarou explained that they both lost their parents, their father was in a coma, and their mother had committed suicide a few months afterwards. Kasumi had been stunned by what she learned from them, to lose both parents like that…it was so unthinkable, she even wondered what kind of monster would do that to a family like them.

"Takashi…tell me…do you hate whoever did that to your family?" Kasumi asked him softly. Takashi stiffened as his eyes went cold.

"Yes…so much that if I ever find him…I'll make him suffer…just how I suffered…" Takashi muttered in a low yet dark voice. Kasumi heard the venom in his tone and realized that if he ever found the one who had done what they did to his family, he wouldn't show any mercy. She held him a bit tighter, which managed to soften Takashi's visage and he smiled, petting her, "Right…I'm sorry…" he said to her.

Kasumi smiled softly, and when the soft voice of the intercom said 'Taka Valley station' did they reach their stop and got out.

* * *

Taka Valley was indeed, a large valley with trees and a canyon overlooking the sea and grassy plains, to Kasumi, this was a beautiful place.

"It's so beautiful…" Kasumi said as she looked at the scenery.

Takashi smiled and nodded, "Why do you think I come here?" he smirked as he walked down the Cliffside of the canyon. Kasumi followed and they walked to the woods, "I come by here once in a while to train and hone my skills…and to occasionally skip school," Takashi grinned with that last statement, causing Kasumi to sweat drop.

"Wait, where do you live during this training?" Kasumi asked, but she had an answer to that already.

"I camp out," Takashi responded. The two reached a suitable area to camp and started setting it up, Kasumi never went camping, of course being on the run with having to camp out seemed natural, but this time with someone with her to keep her company, she felt a bit safer, but now worried if Ayane had found them together, she might go after him.

She mentally prayed that didn't happen and soon a few minutes later, they finished their campsite. The two went to get supplies, with Kasumi it took just a few minutes to hide their food in a high place for bears wouldn't eat it, got firewood and went fishing to get food for their dinner. However, despite all the fun they had, Kasumi couldn't throw the feeling away of being watched, and she had a pretty good idea who it was.

* * *

Ayane watched the two from a tree branch, carefully watching the two of them. She carefully took a notice of Takashi. The young teen had black hair that spiked downward, tanned skin from all his times training, and not only that, but his muscle frame was slightly above average muscles. Ayane watched him and her sister fish, with Takashi failing a few times trying to get the fish.

Ayane tried to suppress a giggle at how funny this moment was, then her feelings went cold upon remembering her mission. Now, all she had to do was get him alone…but how? She quickly descended from the tree to look at the two more closely, but accidently snapped a twig with her food. The two heard it and Kasumi's face seemed to be frozen in both fear and anger.

"Show yourself…Ayane…" Kasumi said coldly. Takashi looked at her just as Ayane walked out.

"Man, you didn't even flinch, I guess I'd expect nothing less from the _princess_," Ayane said coldly to her. Kasumi glared daggers at her as she went between her and Takashi.

"Sister…did Hayate send you to kill me?" Kasumi asked sternly.

"Well he wanted to know how you were, and about this shrimp here," Ayane said as she suddenly popped up next to him. "Hmm…scrawny…but cute, what you say you become my little pet? Hmm?" she asked in a flirty tone while running a circle with her index finger, trying to infuriate her and stutter Takashi.

"He's not your boy-toy! He's my guardian!" Kasumi stated in a high ordered voice.

Ayane turned to Kasumi and went to her slowly, "You think just because you say that we'll leave him alone? We're going to come after you, you know, no matter where you go…" the two sisters were now facing each other dead in the eye. "You can't stop me…or the clan," Ayane said coldly.

"Ayane…if you so much as try anything to Takashi, I won't hesitated to finish you for good…even if you are my sister," Kasumi replied coldly.

Ayane smirked, "oh, you mean, this?" she quickly grabbed Takashi, kicked both his knees to make him fall and held her foot on her back while pulling his arm. Takashi yelled in pain from the pressure on his arm and was holding back tears.

"Takashi!" Kasumi yelled but a kunai knife near her foot stopped her from moving.

"uh uh sis, you come closer I'll snap his arm off," Ayane said and tugged harder. Takashi screamed in pain as tears fell from his eyes, the pain was unbearable for him, Kasumi could clearly see that.

A flash of sakura petals where Kasumi once was had been all Takashi saw through the pain and tears in his eyes. He felt Ayane's foot off his back and her hand let go, then felt himself being carried away at fast speeds that seemed inhuman. He soon started to regain consciousness and felt his back against something rough and hard and something against his cheek.

He opened his eyes slightly and blushed when he saw Kasumi with her hand on his cheek staring right at him in the eyes, his back set against a tree.

"K-Kasumi?" Takashi croaked as he wiped off his eyes. Kasumi quickly got a canteen and gave it to him to drink.

"Easy…Ayane is a bit of a loose cannon, another minute and you would've had your arm broken…" Kasumi said as she gingerly put his arm to his side and got closer. "Stay here until I get back, ok?" she asked him, still staring into his eyes.

"I-I can still fight K-Kasumi" Takashi said as he started to get up…or at least tried but ended up slumping to the ground.

"Takashi, I won't let Ayane hurt you, this I swear on my life…" Kasumi suddenly pressed her lips against his in a kiss. Takashi's eyes widened as his body went numb from what just happened.

'_My first kiss…and with Kasumi too…am I dreaming? No, the pain in my arm is telling me this isn't a dream,'_ Takashi thought during the kiss. Kasumi broke the kiss and blushed heavily when she realized what she did.

"Um...I-I'm sorry for doing that Takashi…" Kasumi said quietly.

"Thank you…" Takashi mumbled to her. Kasumi looked at him, surprised, then realized that this was both their first kiss.

"Don't worry Takashi, stay here…I'll deal with Ayane" Kasumi start started walking, but paused and turned her head slightly to him. "It's my turn to protect you…" she whispered and soon disappeared, leaving Takashi alone.

* * *

Kasumi leapt from tree branch to tree branch until she nearly got hit with a kunai knife and soon pulled out her kodachi hidden on her person (don't ask where she hides them) and soon clashed in midair with Ayane, landing on an opposite branch and faced her.

"Where's that little runt of yours _sister_?" Ayane asked with a hint of venom at the 'sister' part.

"His name is Takashi Kaido, and you know that the clan will kill you for trying to hurt one of our own," Kasumi said to her.

"Wait, so that kid…he's really Phoenix's son?" Ayane asked her.

"Yes…he's one of us Ayane, he just hasn't realized…" Kasumi said.

"Even so…I've been ordered to learn of you two, now that I know, I think it would be best to end this little rivalry of ours and then take Takashi back for questioning," Ayane grinned and threw an electric charged kunai at her. Kasumi disappeared into a flash of petals, then reappeared behind Ayane and kicked her in her chest, sending her flying into the ground. Ayane managed to flip before she hit the ground and skidded a bit, then held her ground as Kasumi delivered a stream of punches and kicks to her half-sister.

Ayane managed to block them and soon swung at Kasumi's feet, knocking her off balance, then grabbed her hand and swung her into a tree, leaving a dent in its side. Kasumi got the wind knocked out of her from that move, but she managed to get up and dodge a bolt of lightning sent by Ayane towards her. Kasumi saw a purple aura around her, realizing she was going to use the Raging Sky Blast attack, she quickly got her own aura ready and into the same stance as her.

"Let's see who's stronger now sis!" Ayane yelled and soon the both launched their attacks, creating a large explosion on contact.

Takashi lifted his head when he heard the explosion, suddenly growing fearful and concerned for Kasumi's safety.

* * *

"Kasumi…I…I got to help her!" he said and slumped forward, trying to get his arm to respond to his body. He gasped a bit from a jolt of pain that ripped through his body and held a hand against a tree to prevent himself from falling.

"Got…to save her!" he said and quickly ran to where the fight was. He soon found Ayane walking from an injured Kasumi who was on her knees, panting from the fight.

"Kasumi!" Takashi yelled and ran to her, only to be stopped when Ayane grabbed him by the collar and pinned against a tree.

"One more move and you're fried…" Ayane whispered into his ear darkly as he felt a kunai against his neck.

"you are one hot, evil little bitch you know that?" Takashi said to her, trying to not be scared.

"Yep…hmm" Ayane took a long look at him, then sniffed his hair a bit, causing a blush to appear on his face.

"Hmm…you are a little cute…why not becoming my little pet when we get back to the village? I'll make sure to take good care of you too," Ayane said in a suggestive manner like a flirt or something.

"Tempting…but I'll have to politely refuse that offer," Takashi couldn't help but smirk from the comment.

"Pity…but why do you care for that traitor anyway?" Ayane asked as she looked at Kasumi.

"She's…" Takashi looked at Kasumi as his fist slowly clenched, "She's the most important person to me!" he said and charged at Ayane. Ayane prepared herself with her lightning ninpo ready, but a sudden punch to the gut forced her to stumble back.

'W-What the? Where did this power come from?' she wondered as she felt Takashi's knee ram her chin, then felt a combo of punches and kicks on her as she suddenly slammed against a tree. Ayane blocked another of Takashi's attacks and prepared another lightning attack, but when she fired it, Takashi dodged it and suddenly a blast of fire shot out of his hand and towards Ayane.

Ayane dodged it, surprised at how he suddenly could use fire ninpo in a short amount of time. She countered with a blast of lightning and charged, aiming her kodachi at him. Takashi managed to dodge the bolt, but got stabbed in the shoulder by the kodachi and stumbled.

"No fair!" he grunted ad pulled out the kodachi, holding his arm as fresh blood seeped through. Ayane didn't waste time as she grabbed the arm of his injured shoulder and brought it onto her back in a flip, causing the arm to dislocate. Takashi yelled in pain as he was flipped over and his arm dislocated like this.

Ayane smirked as she watched Takashi squirm in pain, a part of her felt concern and pity for the boy, but the adrenaline in her body prevented that feeling from ever crossing her mind. She grabbed his dislocated arm and soon punched him hard, causing a web of crack to appear on the ground. Takashi gagged as he rolled over in pain from the punch, holding his stomach.

Ayane walked towards him, the intent to finishing him off clear in her eyes, but suddenly Kasumi appeared next to Takashi, brandishing her own kodachi and was holding it, ready to fight.

"Kasumi, you're actually going to protect him, just what is that little nobody worth for you anyway?" Ayane asked her sister.

"If you come any closer to him Ayane, I swear I'll…" Kasumi started to get up, the clear intent of killing something in her eyes, "I'll have no choice but to kill you," she said coldly.

Ayane laughed and smirked, "Really sis? Do you think you can-" she stopped and her eyes suddenly were filled with stunned shock when she and Kasumi saw Takashi getting up, his dislocated arm hanging loosely on his side as blood erupted in a cough from his mouth and onto the cracks in the ground.

"Hey…I'm still here…you know…" he wheezed as he stumbled towards her. Kasumi glanced at Takashi, concern in her expression, but Ayane was just stunned.

"No way, no normal person would've survived that…what are you?" Ayane asked Takashi.

"I'm someone…who doesn't give up…so easily!" Takashi yelled as his eyes had the look of determination in them. Ayane's expression quickly changed to stunned fear as she and Kasumi saw Takashi's dislocated arm suddenly snap back into place.

"Aah, much better…" he said as he rolled his now fixed shoulder. Ayane took a deep breath and calmed herself, then resumed her original posture.

"You think you can scare me like that?" Ayane smirked as her voice regained its pride.

"Try me…" Takashi smirked and beckoned her to come over. Ayane took the bait, knowing that he couldn't be able to handle any more beatings despite the façade Takashi put up, and charged right at him. Kasumi got ready to fight her half-sister as she stood next to Takashi, who was ready for another attack, except he knew his body couldn't handle another beating.

Suddenly something jumped between the three, Ayane stepped back to avoid it as the thing stood between Kasumi and Takashi. The 'thing' was a black wolf with red highlights, which was unusual for a wolf to have.

"what the, what is that thing?" Ayane asked when she saw the wolf. The wolf growled, then howled as the wind picked up, causing leaves to fly around, when it died down there was a boy where the wolf was.

The boy looked to be around a year or so older than Takashi, he had spiky orange hair with red highlights in it, he also had dog ears, but Takashi assumed that was his due to his hairstyle, which looked like a combination of Axel from _Kingdom Hearts 2_ and Sasuke Uchiha from _Naruto_. He had four bangs on each side of his head with two strands over his regular ears and two over each side of his eyes. He was also wearing a red and black version of ninja armor.

"Oi, oi, what's all this?" the boy asked with a shrug.

"W-Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Ayane asked the boy.

"Well I got a job to do and I can't let you do that, besides, a cute girl like you shouldn't be fighting" the boy smirked, causing Ayane to blush with embarrassment.

"S-Shut up you weirdo!" Ayane said and threw some kunai at him. The boy sighed as he instantly activated a jutsu, suddenly everything slowed down for him, he quickly repositioned the kunai in reverse, then quickly returned to his position and undid the jutsu. Suddenly the kunai flew towards Ayane, causing her to dodge but her sliced by a few of them.

"I don't want to hurt you, so please leave, we can fight some other time," the boy said. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right, he glared at Kasumi and Takashi, then promptly disappeared in a flash.

The boy sighed, "Phew, that was close, "he turned to the two surprised teens and smiled, "you two ok?" he asked them.

"Y-yeah…who are you?" Takashi asked him.

"Oh right, name's Zell by the way, and I take it your Takashi and Kasumi, right?" Zell asked the two. The kunoichi and her partner nodded. "Alright then, oh and by the way, you're gonna need this Takashi," Zell said and threw him something. Takashi caught it and noticed it was an empty playing card.

"What's this?" he asked Zell.

"Something that will help awaken what you truly are Takashi Kaido," Zell said and suddenly disappeared.

"Wait, how do you know who I am?" Takashi called out. Takashi looked at the card, then began to feel lightheaded.

"Ah man…I…I feel…so…" he soon collapsed onto the ground as everything began to turn black for him.

* * *

**Ooh, now the conflict has begun, but just who is Zell? and now with their feelings emerged, what shall happen to Kasumi and Takashi now? Stay tuned**


	7. Forgotten Bonds and Memories

**Well, after much procrastination, make-ups for school, and a research paper by my Nazi of a teacher, i finally finished this chap. And this will answer a ton of questions about Takashi's past, and some fluff too ^^, anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Forgotten Bonds and Memories**

Kasumi petted Takashi's head as he remained unconscious from the battle, when Takashi passed out, she quickly spirited him to their camp and had treated most of his wounds, when she checked his shoulder for any fractures, she was surprised to find none and that it healed perfectly. She sighed with relief from this, yet something still occupied her mind.

What Takashi said to Ayane about her, were they his true feelings for her? Kasumi looked at the young teen as he was fast asleep with his head resting against her chest, having been placed there by Kasumi after she treated his wounds. She smiled softly and petted his head a bit, she began to think about him and about the Kaido family, there was no mistaking it now that he was a clan member…but now that she thought of it, Kasumi was sure that this wasn't the first time meeting.

* * *

**Flashback**

_Kasumi and Ayane were both walking home from school, they were wearing outfits that looked like school uniforms, only Kasumi's was blue while Ayane's was purple. Kasumi had noticed there were two boys before her and one was getting picked on by some of the other kids. The eldest had slightly spiky hair and looked to be a few years old than them, but he had bags under his eyes, indicating he barely slept, and his face looked drawn, as if he was sick._

_The younger brother was the one getting picked on, he looked to be around Kasumi's age with black hair that had been combed down and gold eyes, right now we was getting picked on by some of the older kids. Kasumi and Ayane didn't know anything about how to fight, however they didn't like how that boy was being treated neither._

_The two went to the little group and Kasumi went to the boy, helping him up._

"_Stop this right now, what did he do to you anyway?" she asked the boys, realizing who she was, the boys promptly scurried off. Kasumi looked at the boy, "are you ok?" she asked him. The boy wiped his eyes, noticing that he was crying after they stopped, but he nodded._

"_Y-yes, t-thank you" he whimpered. The elder brother coughed a bit, then the younger one went behind him, as if scared._

"_I'm thankful you saved him, my name's Tarou, this is Takashi," Tarou said, a hand on his brother's head._

"_H-H-Hello…" Takashi stuttered. _

"_Hi, my name is Kasumi, and this is Ayane," Kasumi introduced themselves to the brother._

"_Oh, n-nice to meet you too Ayane" Takashi said as he stepped out from his brother's shadow to shake her hand. The two girls smiled and exchanged pleasantries, had it not been for Takashi and Tarou's mother calling them, they could've talked more. The four said their goodbyes and left, but they would soon become great friends in the days that followed._

**End Flashback**

* * *

Recalling those memories together with Takashi had gotten her to remember why she thought they met before, because they had. Takashi and his brother were part of a clan in the Mugen Tenshi village, one of great respect for, however, when word reached of Tarou's involvement with DoATEC's experiments, they were chased out of the village.

Kasumi hovered her face close to Takashi's, remembering the little boy she met years before, now into the young man he was now, it was funny really, how much he grew. She lowered her head a bit lower and their lips connected again.

"Takashi…I found you again…" she softly brushed back his hair and rested her forehead against his, "I…I love you…Takashi Kaido…" she whispered. She closed her eyes and held him close to her, not even noticing one of his eyes slightly open.

"you do?" Takashi asked as he looked at the surprised kunoichi that held him in her arms. Her expression soon changed from stunned surprise to a warm smile with watery eyes.

"Yes…" she said and kissed him again, this time passionately. Takashi didn't waste time returning it and the two spent the part of that day kissing happily with each other. When the little make-out session ended Kasumi held him tightly and started crying.

Takashi sighed and hugged her back, rubbing her back as well. "It's ok…I'm here…" he said softly.

"Takashi…you…you baka!" Kasumi said and suddenly punched him in the gut, "I was worried about you! You could've died, why did you join the fight when I told you I could handle it!" Kasumi yelled with tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry Kasumi, when I heard the explosion I got worried, and…um…" Takashi fumbled, trying to say some words to get Kasumi to not hurt him further. He was surprised when Kasumi didn't deliver another punch and instead for himself face-first held into her chest.

"Just…don't scare me like that, ok?" Kasumi asked softly. Takashi nodded and smiled, being held like this by Kasumi…it…it made him remember his mother.

"mom…" Takashi mumbled as the old memories began to flood his mind.

"_Takashi, did you and Tarou do the dishes like I asked you to? Honestly, what am I to do with you two boys?"_

"_Great work on graduating Takashi!"_

"_Takashi…his name will be Takashi Kaido…our little hawkling"_

The memories, the images, that smile, that kind, loving voice, it was something he had been suppressing for so long after her death. He didn't even feel the tears falling from his face from it until Kasumi gently wiped them away.

"There, there Takashi…it's ok…" she said softly, as if a mother comforting a child. Those words tore down the walls as a wave of sorrow hit him, causing his heart to sink into its depths.

Takashi began to cry.

It was like he was a little boy again, wanting his mother, all the pent up emotions he held inside after his mom's death a few months after his father was put into the coma finally spilled forth. Takashi cried heavily onto Kasumi, while this surprised her a bit, she held him close and rocked back and forth, holding him in her arms, not letting go of him.

"Shh, shh…it's ok Taka-chan…I'm here…I'm right here…" Kasumi cooed as she petted and hugged and rocked with him. Once he stopped crying, he sniffled and hiccupped, he never wanted to have Kasumi see him like this.

"I'm sorry…I'm pathetic…" he muttered.

"You're not pathetic…you just have a lot of pent up emotions…" Kasumi said as she still petted him.

"Still…this wasn't the first time…I remember, when I was little I was picked on by some of the other kids…a girl saved me…I realized just now who she was…she was you, Kasumi…" Takashi said.

"You…you remember?" Kasumi asked him with surprise in her tone.

"Yes…when I blacked out I saw my past…my clan was chased out of the village when they learned about what Donovan did to us…" Takashi muttered. "He…kidnapped my brother…and…I wasn't told but it was because of that that we were chased out, we're still part of the clan..but we're treated like shit…" Takashi explained.

"like Ayane is…" Kasumi finished.

"Yeah…killing Donovan…and the man who put my father in a coma might be able to get some of our credit back…and let us back in…and maybe you too Kasumi," Takashi said. Kasumi smiled and kissed his lips softly.

"I'd like that…" she said and hugged him again, this time Takashi hugged back. The scent of strawberries got into Takashi's nose as he sniffed the scent.

"I love you Kasumi…" he muttered softly.

"And I love you too, Takashi…" Kasumi replied and sealed the moment with a kiss. After a few minutes of kissing, they ended up cuddling each other closely, with Kasumi resting her cheek on Takashi's head, smiling happily. Takashi smiled and enjoyed the moment with her, yet despite this, he knew Ayane would be back to finish the fight, and what of Zell? What did he have to throw into this, and why was he given a card for?

Takashi knew that the time would soon come when he'd learn about what is going on, but now however, he just wanted to spend the time he had now with Kasumi.

* * *

**So Takashi really is a clan member of Kasumi's clan, but why the secrecy? and what will hppen with the two ninja now that they have confessed their love for each other, and what about Zell and Ayane? Stay tuned for the answers, and R&R plz!**


	8. Announcements and Surprises

**Heya ppl and faithful watchers! sorry for the long wait, had lots of school and stuff going on, anyway i got this baby up and here is the chap you all waited for! Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Announcements and Surprises**

Takashi sighed as he laid down on the bed at home, the trip in Taka Valle was stressful after Ayane showed up, not to mention Takashi remembering his old past with Kasumi. When he got back to their home he had expected Tarou to be there, but for some reason he was gone, probably out on an errand, who knew?

"And here I wanted to ask about our heritage…" Takashi muttered to himself as he absent-mindedly stared at the ceiling. He had so many questions about their father, their mother, and everything about the clan, then he began to wonder something.

'_Could this have been why we were attacked? Was this why dad was put in that coma?'_ he wondered. He pondered these things in his head until he found himself on the roof of his house, unaware that he had gotten there in the first place.

"thinking hard I see?" a familiar voice asked. Takashi nearly freaked as he prepared to roast whoever it was who spoke, but then saw it was Zell and stopped, but still kept his guard up.

"Zell, right? What are you doing here?" Takashi asked him.

"Wanted to see how you were doing" Zell said nonchalantly.

"What about that card and that stuff you said?" Takashi asked him.

"Oh that? Well…its hard to explain…ever play or seen the _Persona_ series?" Zell asked him.

"Lots of times, why?" Takashi asked him.

"Well, it's like the Personas, see there are supposedly 13 animals of the zodiac, right? So there must be 13 people who can be able to have the power of the zodiac beast in them, right?" Zell inquired.

"I guess…" Takashi said, starting to get why he was given the card.

"I have the zodiac beast of the Wolf, which replaces the Dog, you have the Hawk, which replaces the Rooster. However…I sense you have a deeper power that isn't unlocked yet…" Zell stated sternly.

"Really?" Takashi asked him.

"Yeah, there were 13 of us, but due to Donovan and DOATEC, the zodiac kids are lessening, and he's making his own brand of them, genetically altering the DNA of some kids with a zodiac animal in them into…monsters" Zell shuddered from that explanation.

"So…Donovan ruined more than just my life huh? Guess there are lots of others who wanna kill him?" Takashi asked Zell.

"Many of the zodiac spirits do, two work for him, Orochi, the snake, and of course the Dragon, Seiryu…" Zell muttered. Takashi shuddered, the mentioning of the snake-god of Shinto mythology scared him a bit.

Then again…

_'Why…why do I feel…angry all of a sudden?'_ he wondered.

"Anyway, just wanted to check on you and Kasumi are doing," Zell said to him as he turned to leave.

"Hang on, do you live nearby?" Takashi asked the boy before he left.

"House next door" Zell replied.

"What about school?"

Zell stopped and scratched his head, as if thinking, "Um…not really…" he said.

"What about mine?" Takashi inquired. Zell stopped, then turned to him and smiled a bit.

"I'll think about it," he said and disappeared.

* * *

Takashi sighed and shook his head, "Weird man…" he muttered before heading inside.

"So Superior, think I should attend the school he's in?" Zell said to the communicator hidden in his ear as he stood on top of a building.

"It would endanger the mission a bit, but considering who he is, I suggest you should, to keep an eye out for him," a female's voice said through the communicator.

"Right, so should I go to the Mugen Tenshi Village and tell them about what's going to happen?" Zell asked.

"It would be wise, not only that but you should try to convince them to let Kasumi back in as well, don't forget the mission, alright?" the female said.

"Right boss," Zell said and hung up, then disappeared from the building.

* * *

Ayane bowed before Hayate when she returned to the village, "Forgive me Lord Hayate, I failed my mission," Ayane said.

"It's alright, you did well surviving against Kasumi and Takashi, who we now confirmed him to being the son of _Phoenix_" Hayate said to reassure her.

"R-really? But…Lord Hayate, when I fought him he could use fire, not only that but when I dislocated his arm it snapped back into place on its own…if he's truly Phoenix's son…then that means I attacked one of our own," Ayane said with realization.

"I know this Ayane, but for you it was an honest mistake, at least we know now he's watching over Kasumi, you managed to fight them off, I'm glad you managed to hold your own against them," Hayate said.

"T-Thank you Lord Hayate…but…what will this mean for the clan now?" Ayane asked.

"It means…we may have a chance to get Kasumi back, as well as one of our own," Hayate told her.

"Then I believe I can help," a voice said. The ninja assembled looked around for the voice's origin just as Zell appeared before them.

"Who are you?" Hayate asked him.

"Whoa, easy there, my name is Zell," Zell explained.

"You? What are you doing here?" Ayane exclaimed to Zell.

"You two know each other?" Hayate asked the two with a curious expression on his face.

"We met the other day, anyway, my Superior put me on a mission to help out your clan, she wanted to have me get Kasumi, the princess of your clan, back home, as well as assassinating Helena Douglas to prevent DOATEC from rising and kill the ALPHA series that escaped." Zell explained.

"I see…you think you can get Kasumi back?" Hayate asked.

"Well we're trying to help, besides, she's been away from home long enough, her and Takashi," Zell said.

"That is true…it has been a long time…" Hayate muttered to himself.

"I'm also sent to assassinate Helena Douglas and possibly Donovan, if he's alive" Zell said.

"He's alive?" The two ninja shouted in shock.

"We don't know but it's possible…besides this will give me the chance to get back at him for turning me into a freak like the others," Zell sighed.

"Wait, 'others'?" Ayane asked him. Zell nodded and explained what he told to Takashi a while ago to them.

"Wait…so there are others like you?" Ayane asked him.

"Yep…" Zell said.

"From our story…you are like Ayane…" Hayate said as he stroked his chin a bit.

"Yeah…" The two teens said.

"Still Zell, your objectives seem sound, if anything I wish to have my sister back…yet I do not wish to jeopardize her further. And with Takashi's family ties I'm unsure as how to act on this, perhaps we can work together?" Hayate asked.

"If you mean me getting the two of them back into the clan and taking out DOATEC, then yeah I think it could work," Zell said.

"Good, still, having you on the clan would be very helpful for us," Hayate said.

"Wait, wouldn't he have to…oh, I see…Hayate you meant for this huh?" Ryu said as he had suddenly appeared leaning against a pillar of the room, having heard everything.

"Wait, in order for Zell to join the clan he's have to marry into the clan won't he?" Ayane asked, now realizing what her leader had suggested.

"Yes, if Zell is ok in marrying you that is," Hayate said.

"Well if Ayane is ok with this" Zell stated. Ayane was confused and surprised by the request, marrying him, she barely even knew him! Still, he was polite in apologizing, and they both knew the pain of being rejected by their own clan, she hated to admit it, but they were the same.

"Well…what do you think Zell?" Ayane asked him.

"I'll be ok if you'll have me," Zell said.

"How about we discuss this later? To give you both more time to think this over," Hayate suggested.

"Wait, where is Zell going to sleep?" Ayane asked, even though she had a good guess where.

"Well…if you wanted he could move in with you," Ryu suggested.

"Sounds ok with me," Zell shrugged.

_'why don't I ever get a saying to these things?'_ Ayane wondered.

* * *

Takashi waited until Tarou got home to grill him about the questions he's had for a while. When he heard the door open he sighed and got up from his bed, heading towards the living room where Tarou was located.

"Bro…we need to talk…" Takashi began.

"Later Takashi, but look at this," Tarou said and flicked on the T.V. to a news channel.

"In a shocking return from a long absence, Victor Donovan appeared on worldwide television announcing his return and that of the return of the Dead or Alive Tournament," the news anchorwoman said as the screen showed Victor Donovan in from of a large press conference with two hooded people next to him and two men in black suits beside them.

"I am pleased to announce that after much time of planning, that the fifth Dead or Alive tournament shall begin in exactly one month from today, the fighters you all know and favor will be competing this year, but this time I've taken the liberty of adding some fresh blood into this tournament. These brave younglings shall fight in the tournament while trying to compete to win the grand prize of one million dollars," Donovan explained.

"The winner of this tournament shall be crowned Dead or Alive Champion, and they also will have the honor of fighting me in the final match," Donovan explained as the crowd gasped in shock.

"No way…" Takashi mumbled with surprise.

"To the competitors who will join this tournament, you have one month to get ready, the even shall be hosted on the Freedom Survivor, a luxury cruise liner that will house them and also dock at ports around the world where fights shall be scheduled, also they may be a few fights on the ship as well. To this, I say that this year's DOA tournament shall be a memorable one to say the least," Donovan said.

Takashi shut the TV off, stunned by this news, if this is true, then that means he'd have to drop out of school if he was chosen, considering he was with Kasumi, she'd definitely join, and probably Takashi too.

"Finally…he shows his face huh?" Takashi said as he got up.

"Yep…come on…I want to show you something…" Tarou said as he headed to the hallway.

"It's about our father and the Kaido clan, isn't it?" Takashi asked sternly. Tarou stopped, then turned to glare at Kasumi.

"You told him?" he asked with his tone rising in anger.

"Only a bit…" Kasumi said softly, like a child who was guilty of taking cookies from the jar.

"I figured it out when Ayane nearly killed us…brother, why did you lie to me?" Takashi asked his brother with a sad look in his eyes.

"You…you wouldn't have lasted when you entered the world of the ninja…you wouldn't survive…" Tarou said darkly.

"I finally found the man who took dad from us and you think I can't handle it? What kind of a fucked up reason is that?" Takashi yelled. Tarou was going to answer, but he held back his words and sighed angrily.

"Follow me…" he said. He dug into his pocket and got out a small key, then went to the door leading to the attic, used the key to unlock it and then opened the door, going up as he did. Takashi and Kasumi followed him up into the attic, getting hit by a blast of cold air.

"Holy shit it's freezing…" Takashi said as he shivered. Takashi soon stopped as his body vibrated when he saw what was before him. Before him was probably the largest assortment of ninja goods ever, it had old suits of armor that gathered dust and looked to belong to a museum than an attic, there were weapons on racks and scrolls. Above a hung katana was the symbol of the Mugen Tenshi Clan but with a bird made of fire flying around it, similar to the Uroboros symbol.

"Takashi…here before you stands the legacy of the entire Kaido family, if you truly want to walk down this path know that you can never go back to your old life…" Tarou explained, his face sharpened by the lit candles in the room to give a more serious air.

Takashi couldn't speak for a minute before he started laughing, first as a chuckle, then a full-blown laugh. "Are you freaking kidding brother? After seeing all of this" Takashi had his hands spread wide, "I don't manna go back to that old routine life! This…all of this!" he twirled in a circle, "This is very interesting!" he grinned.

Kasumi was surprised by this proclamation, was he truly insane? Or did he really want to enter this world of theirs? She looked at Tarou, who now burst out laughing.

"Ha-ha! I knew I couldn't smolder that fire inside you, so I take it that's a 'yes'?" he asked his brother. Takashi nodded, an expression of confidence in his face.

"Ok brother…use this room and its secrets to your heart's content, let's go Kasumi, he'll need some alone time," Tarou said as he walked down the steps of the attic. The kunoichi looked at her benefactor as he was reading a scroll by the candle light, apparently drowning out everything and focusing on the task at hand.

She smiled and left Takashi to his devices, knowing full well he'll need it in the coming days ahead._ 'He's gonna enter the tournament…and Ayane and Zell too…Ryu and Hayate as well…but those other two with Donovan…looks like this year's competition is going to be even more fierce…'_ Kasumi sighed but then nods, _'We need to start training…for all that will come…'_ she thought.

'_But…why would Donovan show up now?'_ Kasumi wondered.

* * *

"The invitations have been sent right?" Donovan asked as he stared down on the city below.

"Yes sir, we have sent them…but some of the chosen seem strange, why would you-" the secretary began to say when a kunai knife near her neck stopped her.

"S-Sorry, I will leave now!" she squeaked and ran out of the room.

"Hibei, knock that off this instant," Donovan said to the hooded figure with the outstretched arm. The figure snorted and lowered his hand.

"Don't worry, your target will be invited with the others, then you can have you fun with them" Donovan said, still not looking from the window.

'_And with them, my ultimate fighter will finally be born…'_ he thought with a smirk on his face.

* * *

**And now the plot thickens! Zodiac beasts, Donovan's return, Takashi learning of his heritage! oooh the suspense never ends! Stay tuned for the next chapter! and R&R plz!**


	9. Training

**And so begins another new chapter for the story! This one will allude to new characters that will appear probably later in the story when the tournament takes off. Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Training**

_The boy's vision began to shift between foggy and clear as he looked up at the figure before him. It looked like a young man judging by the silhouette being framed by the blood on the walls. A hiss came from the youth's throat as a twin pointed tongue slithered and wagged around like a snake's tongue, actually the tongue looked like an actual snake's. _

_The snake-youth glared at the boy with gold eyes similar to his own as two fangs protruded from his upper lip._

* * *

Takashi gasped as he sat up from the nightmare, sweat dripping down his face. He wiped off the sweat and shivered, both from the cold of the attic and the nightmare.

'_Another nightmare…about him…'_ he thought. He noticed a blanket wrapped around him, probably from Kasumi to keep him warm while he read the documents about the clan. Takashi had read many of the documents last night and fell asleep from reading apparently. He yawned, rolled up the scroll and got up, putting it back with the scrolls he finished reading and went downstairs with the blanket wrapped over him.

"Oh, morning Taka-kun" Kasumi smiled and pecked his cheek when he got down.

"Morning to you too Kasumi-chan, thanks for the blanket," Takashi said and smiled.

"No problem, you had fallen asleep with the scroll in your hand, so I didn't want you to get cold," Kasumi said with a soft tint of pink on her cheeks forming. Takashi smiled and hugged her, which the kunoichi happily hugged back.

"I was just making breakfast, you want some?" Kasumi asked him.

"Sure," Takashi said. A few minutes later the two were eating breakfast before Tarou walked in and saw them.

"Huh, glad you're up…" Tarou said when he saw his brother eating with Kasumi.

"Yeah, was up all night reading the scrolls…who knew our clan was that infamous…" Takashi said as he dogged down the pancakes.

"Well that's the tip of the iceberg brother, you'll learn more as you train," Tarou stated as he ate too.

"So Takashi, any plans today?" Tarou asked once he finished eating his breakfast.

"Well me and the guys were gonna hit the arcade later today, why?" Takashi asked.

"Good, this will give you time to train," Tarou said, stunning Takashi.

"What?" the younger brother yelled in shock.

"You said you'd hold no regrets when you entered our world well you're going to train hard, especially with the DOA tournament coming up," Kasumi stated as she washed the dishes.

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?" Takashi groaned.

"You never gave us the chance," the two both stated. Takashi slumped his head on the table, defeated, then sighed.

"Well, guess I better accept that fact…so…when's training?" he asked as he lifted his head.

* * *

"that..was…so..brutal…" Takashi panted after he finished sparing with Kasumi. It was only that question he asked that gotten Kasumi to take him to the backyard of the house and spar for a few good hours, only after the first one he nearly blacked out from how powerful Kasumi's punch was. When he regained consciousness they sparred again, this time Takashi wising up to Kasumi's tactics and they tied.

"Well you managed to counter most of my attacks, so I say you've improved a lot," Kasumi said as she sat, covered in sweat and panting a bit from the fight. Takashi glanced at the kunoichi beside him, noticing how her hair was tangled a bit from the sparing, and that her chest heaved up and down with each pant. Takashi blushed and a torrent of perverted thoughts filled his mind, he shook them away and got up.

"Come on, let's spar some more!" he stated. Kasumi nodded and got up, the two of them both getting into their stances, then charging at each other.

* * *

"You sure about doing this Zell? I mean if the others find you, then you'll drag innocent bystanders into this conflict of yours," Tarou said as he and Zell were watching Takashi and Kasumi fight from the roof of the house.

"I gotta, it's my job…by the way, I'm surprised you're still around, what Donovan's alterations to your body aren't affecting you yet?" Zell asked Tarou.

"He did minor changes…but that's beside the point, what about the others? Any word?" Tarou asked the wolf-kid.

"Well we know specifically two are working with Donovan…not to mention another one…what was his nickname…hmm…I think you know him Tarou, since you two were best friends in the labs," Zell said.

"Kai…you telling me Kai's working for him now?" Tarou asked.

"Yep…listen, I know you didn't want to drag Takashi into this, but it looks like he'll have to know soon…Tarou.." Zell put a hand on his friend's shoulder, "We were best friends in the labs with Lisa…I know you, you're not the kind to hide things from anyone…I'm here to protect Takashi and Kasumi and see you three return to the village, I don't want any secrets…" Zell said seriously.

Tarou was silent for a bit as the battle between Takashi and Kasumi was continuing below them. "I…Zell…I'm…" Tarou began to say in a shaky tone.

* * *

Takashi charged once more at Kasumi, punching he in the gut and delivering a kick to her side. Kasumi managed to block the punches and only got a bit hurt from the kick, however Takashi quickly made a low jump and did a low uppercut with his foot, causing her to be sent flying. Kasumi got her ground again but barely dodged a punch that grazed her and hit the wall behind her, which she realized she backed into.

"Heh, guess I win," Takashi smirked.

"Yeah…" Kasumi said as she got out of her stance. Takashi then gave a muffled groan as he held his hand he punched the wall with in pain. Kasumi looked at the hand, noticing some of his fingers were bent and it was red with the knuckles made contact with the wall, but then a few seconds later and with the sounds of bone snapping into place, the hand was fixed good as new.

"Amazing…just like with your arm…" Kasumi said as she stared at his hand. Takashi blushed a bit from how Kasumi was holding his hand and looked away so she wouldn't see it. When it clicked in her head what she was doing, she let go of his hand and blushed a bit.

"g-Gomenhasai Takashi-kun," she apologized.

"I-it's fine Kasumi-chan," Takashi said, blushing by what he just said and being called '-kun' from her. Kasumi smiled a bit, as did Takashi when the two teens looked at each other.

"hey if you guys want to make out I'm all for it but…take it inside ok?" Tarou called from the roof.

"Shut up god damnit!" Takashi yelled back, now pissed off. Tarou shrugged and jumped down, landing on his feet with ease.

"Anyway, nice job, being able to beat Kasumi means you're getting ready for the tournament…if they let you in," Tarou said.

"Well that's your opinion," Takashi shrugged.

* * *

A bit later Takashi was walking down with the gang as they checked but the arcade, sure Takashi's body was worn out from the sparring he did with Kasumi, but he didn't want to disappoint his friends by not showing up. While his joints hurt from moving, he managed to beat Shinji and Kenji in the arcade version of _Mortal Combat_ as Night-wolf.

It was pretty easy, having mastered that game like, a bunch of times already, due to him having free time back in his "glory days" where he was a master of video games. Thinking back now, he did miss those old days of his, but then remembered how cold he was before after his mother's death months after his father was comatose.

"Yo, Taka-chan! You awake?" Shinji asked as he waved his hand in front of his friend's face, causing him to snap out.

"Huh? Or sorry I was just thinking about something, what were you saying?" Takashi asked his friend.

"I said are you going to the festival at school? Everyone's going to go there in traditional clothes, it's supposed to be about getting money for the school, but hey, free food, girls in yukatas and kimonos, I say let's do it!" Shinji said with much enthusiasm.

"Knowing you you'll try anything to get a girl Shinji," Kenichi stated.

"Anyway, so you coming Takashi?" Shinji asked him.

"Sure I guess, want me to bring Fumiko-chan?" Takashi asked, having a good guess as to his friend's answer.

"Sure, I bet she'll love it," Shinji grinned with enthusiasm. Takashi sighed, then he wondered if Zell would like to come to the festival as well. Takashi stayed with his friends then returned home to find Zell watching TV on the couch and Kasumi eating some Iced Café au Lait on the kitchen table.

"Am I missing something here?" Takashi asked the two.

"No, I just came by the hang out for a bit," Zell said causally.

"And you let him in Kasumi?" Takashi asked the kunoichi as she ate her frozen fruit dessert.

"Well he did save us, so I thought letting him in and relaxing would be a suitable way to thank him, right?" Kasumi asked Takashi.

"Well you got me there…" Takashi mumbled.

"Plus since the DOA Tournament is back we're going to have some serious training to do," Zell said as he sat up.

"Yeah, hey by the way Zell, our school's gonna have a festival tomorrow, you wanna come?" Takashi asked the boy.

"sure, since I got nothing else to do, might as well hang out with your friends," Zell said. "Well I should get going, I'll tell Ayane you said 'hi' for her and let the others know you're ok," Zell said to Kasumi as he suddenly disappeared.

"I hate it when he does that…" Takashi sighed and shook his head lightly. Kasumi smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek to cheer him up. This worked and for the next few minutes they sat on the couch eating the Iced Café au Lait while cuddling together.

* * *

Meanwhile, atop a building in the city's skyline…

A small garden snake slithered its way towards a hand in the shadows, coiling around the arm and lifted its head to the arm's bearer.

"So…the Kaido boy livessss…ah, and Kassssssumi too…heh even the Tiger and the Wolf asssss well?" the voice hissed as a two pointed tongue slithered out of the mouth.

"Thisssss issss going to be very fun," gold eyes flashed from under the dark hood, the slit pupils giving off a demonic, evil aura as two fangs flashed in the darkness.

* * *

**It appears a festival is coming up for Takashi and friends, but someone from the past might ruin it, who could this stranger be? and what is Tarou hiding? Stay tuned to learn the answers to these questions in the next chapter! and R&R plz!**


	10. Festival

**Heya, sorry for the long delay of no updates, been very busy lately with school, so now i managed to get this chap up! Oh and here there are two characters i will add to the story, one was an idea i had but Projekt-z got her down, the second is another character i've been thinking of. Anywya enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 9: Festival**

Takashi looked around at the closet, looking for some clothes to wear for the night. Since Kasumi was going he thought about wearing something nice for the occasion, then again it was going to be a warm night, still a jacket wouldn't be a bad choice to bring. Takashi now looked at the choice of jackets, between his school uniform jacket or the one with the hawk emblem over the heart.

Takashi looked back and forth before deciding on taking the hawk jacket. _'I wonder if Zell's having the same problems as me?'_ Takashi thought as he began to change.

* * *

"A festival at Takashi's school?" Ayane asked Zell he went to the bathroom. The house Ayane lived in was a regular two-story, complete with two bathrooms, a bedroom and a guestroom, a kitchen, living room, basement, etc.

"Yeah, I didn't want to disappoint him, plus this will help me keep an eye on Kasumi too" Zell said from the bathroom. Ayane cringed a bit, she wanted to fulfill her father's wish, but at the same time, part of her didn't want to hurt Kasumi or see her get killed, mostly from Hayate wanting her back safely.

"If you don't want me to go I'll cancel," Zell said suddenly from behind Ayane, having wrapped his arms around her. Ayane tensed and tried to get out of the hold, but she eased up a bit and sighed.

"No, go and enjoy your night, I'll be ok," Ayane said softly to him. Zell sighed and kissed Ayane's cheek softly before letting go of her.

"I'll try to," he said and left a blushing and dumbstruck Ayane on the couch, wondering what had just occurred.

* * *

"Well looks like this year's culture Fest. Is going well, wouldn't you say Taka-kun?" Shinji asked Takashi as he bit into the Teriyaki. Takashi was staring off into space, as if in deep thought about something.

"Yo Takashi!" Shinji said, bopping him aside the head, causing him to snap back to reality.

"Huh?" Takashi blinked as his mind returned to reality.

"Dude you've been zoning out a lot since we got here, what's going on, anybody home?" Shinji asked as he knocked on Takashi's forehead, forcing the teen to push his friend into nearly falling into a boiling grease vat.

"Whoa, dude you nearly deep-fried me!" Shinji said as he rose his arms to stop any more hostile behavior.

"Sorry man, I've got a ton on my mind," Takashi apologized.

"Is this about those rumors about you and Fumiko? Dude just embrace it man, that way you might actually get her to be your girlfriend," Shinji stated.

Takashi sighed and made a mental chuckle, oh if only he knew how close he was to that. The whole rumors of Takashi and 'Fumiko' recently being a bit closer to each other than usual sparked questions and later rumors about their relationship. The kunoichi in disguise had told them that she thought Takashi was familiar to her and when questioned about it over the period Takashi was gone she had remembered of a childhood friend that was exactly like Takashi, and Takashi remembered the same.

Ironically she was telling the truth, but thankfully she never spoke of her ninja side so the others took that as truth. 'Weird how she's telling the truth but hid her ninja heritage…guess she's really good at hiding things,' Takashi thought.

"uh, yeah sure, let's go with that…" Takashi shrugged. While Shinji jumped and said 'I knew it!', Takashi looked around. Almost a lot of the school came for this, and a few other people who were apparently the parents or relatives of students, some of the guys wore modern clothes and some girls wore yukatas or kimonos, actually, some of the girls Takashi chatted with were there in kimonos, and he had to admit they looked good.

Still, one thing nagged at the back of his head…well two actually: Where were Kasumi and Zell?

"Whoa…check that out…" Shinji said as he looked in the distance. Takashi looked and nearly gaped when he saw who was coming. He saw that Zell was coming in a black hoodie with the zipper all the way down to show a black shirt with three red slash marks on it as part of the design, but it was Kasumi…eh… Fumiko who got the attention.

The kimono she wore was…well…colorful to say the least, it was a light pink color with a dark blue obi sash tied in a cute bow. She even didn't have her glasses on, which Takashi knew was a great risk, anyone could've found out she was the famous Kasumi and her secret would've been blown, strangely the girls were amazed by her appearance, not even caring she didn't have her glasses on or not.

"Hello Takashi, Shinji, Kenichi," Kasumi bowed politely.

"Wow…you look amazing Fumiko…" Takashi said with a blush on his face.

"Damn Fumiko, where'd you get that?" Shinji said, ogling her kimono.

"This? Oh it was just something I had saved," Kasumi said, a little tint of pink on her cheeks.

"Yo Takashi, can I talk to you in private?" Zell asked the teen. Takashi nodded and left Shinji and Kenichi alone with Kasumi.

"What's wrong?" Takashi asked.

"Listen, while we were coming here…I sensed that something was following us…it's another of the zodiac kids from Donovan's side," Zell said coldly.

"Alright, want me to warn Kasumi?" Takashi asked.

"Just get the others out of here…I'll go get the one that followed us," Zell said and disappeared. Takashi nodded and went to Kasumi and the small group gathering around the kunoichi.

"Hey uh Fumiko, you wanna go walk with me and the others?" he asked her. She nodded and the group left to go walk around.

* * *

Zell reappeared at the top of a building and looked at the hooded figure before him. "Found you…" he said coldly. The hooded figure turned and lowered the hood, revealing to be a girl around his age, she too had the same gold eyes as Takashi, but Zell saw despair and anguish, not to mention darkness in them. There was also a sense of bloodlust coming from her body, the eyes flashed for a second as the girl sneered.

"Zell, how long has it been…5…maybe 6 years since we met?" the girl asked in a British accent.

"Dora Gon…I guess Donovan didn't stop Project Z after he casted me aside when he deemed me a failure, huh?" Zell asked as he pointed an all-black blade at her. Dora Gon smirked as she removed the robe, revealing that the left side of her body was covered in scales of a dragon with a dragon's left arm to match.

"Nope, me and Hebei are just one of the new batch he made," Dora Gon smirked and charged at Zell.

'_Hebei too? Wait, if she's here…oh shit, Takashi!'_ Zell realized just as the dragon woman charged and slashed her dragon claw at Zell, forcing him to block it.

* * *

Takashi lifted his head up, sensing something was wrong. _'What's this feeling just now? It feels like…darkness…' _he thought.

"Taka-kun? You alright?" Kasumi asked him when she peeled away from the others.

"Huh? Oh yeah, just needed some air is all," Takashi said, not wanting to worry her. He then looked at the others, noticing they were busy chatting or eating with the other students. Takashi smiled a bit then sighed, once he graduated he was going with Kasumi, Tarou and Zell to train for the DOA tournament, assuming he got an invitation. He'd never see the others again, all the times they play video games at the arcade, hung out and did stuff together, he'd never be able to do that anymore.

Takashi was glad the others didn't look at him, it hid the sorrow Kasumi could clearly see in his eyes. Takashi gently felt the warm hand of Kasumi wrap around his hand and her head gently resting on his arm. A small smile graced Takashi's face, silently thanking her for her company, before holding her hand back.

Takashi went back to the others with Kasumi and enjoyed the rest of the time with them, yet he kept having a bad feeling something bad was going to happen. Soon only some people were left as the festival was drawing to a close, Takashi and his friends thought about hitting the hay, yet Takashi still felt edgy about something.

"Yo Taka, we're all heading to your place later, right?" Shinji asked him.

"My place? Why my place?" he asked him.

"Well it's been a while since we hung out there, and since school's gonna end and graduation coming, we got to get ready, plus we might not get the chance to hang out and stuff like we used to," Kenichi said as he walked up to the two. Takashi suddenly felt something nearby, a dark presence that seemed to be slithering around them.

"Takashi, what's wrong?" Kasumi asked him, noticing his expression.

"There's…something here…" he said. Suddenly they hear a girl scream and they saw that a little garden snake slither on past some girls, who were screaming like bloody murder when they saw it, causing the men to sweat drop.

"A snake? You're all scared of a snake?" Takashi raised an eyebrow at this. A much more deeper hiss, but from something much larger, stopped everyone dead in their tracks. Takashi slowly turned his head as he saw the biggest snake he had ever seen right before him. The sudden appearance of the snake made him freeze, for one he never expected a snake to appear that big…the other was that he knew who it belonged to and realized what he sensed before.

'This snake…no…this means that he's' Takashi quickly shot the others a look that said 'run!' as he turned to the snake.

"Takashi!" Shinji called.

"Run! Get everyone out of here!" Takashi yelled, unfortunately he didn't see the other snakes slither out of the shadows of the stands and coil around everyone, constricting them in their grips.

"W-what the hell?" Shinji yelled as he was getting constricted.

"Get off me you freak!" Kenichi said as he struggled to break free.

"Help!" Daichi called as his snake was constricting him faster. Takashi cursed under his breath as he tried to find a suitable weapon to fight with. A dark chuckle came from around the area and Takashi's blood ran cold in his veins, he recognized that chuckle a mile away.

"…you…" he snarled and slowly turned around. Before him was the same person he encountered 5 years ago, who looked like he hadn't aged at all. He still had the same eyes, same pale skin, even the same dark green hair that looked to be black in the right light.

"Takashi…Kaido…been a long time since we saw each other…my my you've grown," the man said with a forked tongue slithering in and out of his mouth.

"Hebei…I can't believe you show up now…" Takashi growled as he stared at the man who took his father from him all those years ago.

"Yes, well I got my orders to see if you're ready, so how about a game? You need to beat me before my snakes squeeze the life from your friends, beat me and you'll get them back, fail and…well I think you get the point, so, shall we?" Hebei said as a snake coiled onto his arm, hissing at him.

Takashi got angrier as the fames on the torches burned brighter, as if to manifest his anger.

"Taka…shi…" Shinji gasped.

"Taka…" Daichi strained as the snake coiled around him tighter.

"Taka-kun…" Kasumi whispered as a tear fell down onto the ground. Takashi saw it and got more enraged, then pulled out his katana that he hid in his coat and unsheathed it.

"You're fucking dead Hebei!" he yelled and charged at the snake-man.

* * *

**And here is where the story kicks off! Hebei and Dora Gon emerge from the shadows to attack Zell and Takashi, with two people from the past now back, what will the outcome be? Stay tuned for the answers! R&R plz!**


	11. Confrontations

**Sorry about the long wait people, but here is the chapter that you've all waited for! Oh and also, quick note, Hebi speaks with a hiss so his 's's are extened, anyway enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 10: Confrontations**

Zell charged at Dora Gon and slashed at her with his katanas, but the blades only grazed past her scales. "What? Why didn't that work?" Zell wondered as he jumped away from the dragon-girl.

"Fool! My scales can easily block any of your attacks," Dora Gon said as she charged at Zell. The wolf-kid dodged her slashing claw and tried to carve off her head, unfortunately he got punched in his side and sent flying from it. Dora Gon reappeared and delivered a downward kick that caused Zell to crash into the roof of the building.

Zell crawled out of the crater he made and quickly slowed down time in order to escape her, but suddenly he found himself staring right at the dragon-girl and kicked near the railing.

"Y-You can control time?" he asked with shock.

"Yep, but I'm better than you," Dora Gon stated and charged once more.

* * *

Takashi and Hebi clashed as the others watched, Takashi's eyes having a look that the others never saw before, while Hebi was grinning and chuckling like a madman. Kasumi tried to escape the snake's hold on her, but she couldn't as it tightened its grip on her and the others. She then bit the snake, causing it to hiss and loosen her hold, allowing her to get her wakisashi and slash it, freeing her. She then quickly threw of her kimono, revealing her ninja outfit under it, then sliced off the other snakes holding everyone else.

"Fumiko, you're…" Shinji began.

"I'll explain everything later, but you got to get everyone out of here, I'm going to help Takashi," Kasumi said as she ran to the two fighting teens. Shinji, Kenichi and Daichi nodded and went with the other students to get everyone away while Takashi and Kasumi attacked Hebi.

"You fucking bitch! You killed my sssssssnakessssss!" Hebi hissed at Kasumi as the kunoichi attacked him.

"You endangered innocent people, you're nothing more than a monster," Kasumi stated. She was about to go in for an attack, but Takashi stopped her.

"No…this is my fight Kasumi…I wanna end this myself…" Takashi said sternly to her. Kasumi was going to protest but saw the look in Takashi's eyes, he had a look that scared her, he was serious about killing Hebi and getting revenge.

Kasumi nodded and stepped back, allowing Takashi to continue his battle. The two men then fought once more, Takashi using his fire Nippon against the snakes that Hebi launched at him. The shadows flickered with images of snakes hissing and poised for attack while Takashi slicing them to pieces.

"Whoa…is…is this Takashi?" Daichi asked with shock and awe as they watched the battle.

"Yes, Takashi has been holding in his anger and rage against the man who wronged his family years ago…but…if he keeps this up he might be lost in his own rage and self-destruct," Kasumi said, a hint of worry in her tone.

Watching the two men fight, the others had realized what she meant by that. Takashi's face clearly had the look of someone hell-bent at killing, while Hebi looked like a madman on a killing spree. The best term for him would have to be 'sociopath'. The two men kept at it, Takashi's raging flames burning the snakes away like they were nothing.

Takashi quickly slashed at Hebi, but the snake man dodged it, however the attack did carve off the snake attached to his arm. Using this to his advantage, Takashi quickly slashed upward, slicing off the arm of Hebi, causing a hiss-like scream to come from him as his arm fell to the ground, writhing as if a real snake in pain.

Takashi held the bloodied in his hand and had his other hand on the ground, in a pose similar to the Cyborg Ninja in _Metal Gear Solid._

"Show off…" Shinji muttered, with Kasumi grinning a bit.

"It ends now…" Takashi stated and closed his eyes, exhaling slowly, then opened his eyes, showing them to be glowing gold, like a neon sign. Suddenly the flames in the torches rose up more as a pair of wings made of fire appeared on Takashi's back, his hands and feet also were on fire, but his clothes didn't seemed to get burned by the flames.

Hebi saw this and quickly turned to break out into a run, but in an instant Takashi had gone and slashed him across the chest, spilling blood all over. Takashi made a motion with his katana, sending off the blood from the weapon, and sheathed the sword. Hebi was on the ground, blood all over him, apparently dead, with a large slash on his chest from Takashi.

Speaking of Takashi, the flame wings and his glowing eyes, as well as the fire on his hands and feet, died down and soon he was back to normal. Takashi's eyes however seemed to be slightly empty, either from the exhaustion of the new form he got, or from killing Hebi, it was unsure.

* * *

While that fight was going on, Zell was busy fighting off Dora Gon, but her ability to manipulate time, which Zell had discovered that she was better at controlling it, he was pretty beat up from it. Zell spat out some blood, leaving a metallic taste in his mouth as he did, from the punch Dora Gon gave him.

"Damn it…I can't believe I'm going to have to use this form…to kick her ass," Zell stated softly as he had his arms in an x-formation. Soon his forearms and legs began to shift into wolf claws and feet, soon he became a werewolf-like creature but black and red colored fur.

"Oh, I'm so scared of the wolf-freak, not!" Dora Gon said arrogantly and charged at him. Zell growled and soon used his time powers to slow down time and appeared behind her, slashing on her back with his claws. Dora Gon yelled in pain as she stumbled onto the ground, bleeding from her back. She quickly used her time powers to accelerate the healing of the wound as it soon became a scar on her back.

Growling, the dragon woman flew at Zell and punched him in the gut, only for the werewolf to catch the fist with both his hands. Dora Gon smirked and prepared to punch him with her free arm, however she felt two kunai knives lodge in her arm and then a kick by something I purple before she skidded near the edge of the building.

"A-Ayane!" Zell said when he saw the familiar Tengu in her regular ninja outfit.

"And you said you'd be back in a few hours!" Ayane yelled as she slapped Zell upside the head. Zell whimpered from that slap, but he sighed and shook his head.

"Had to deal with a little problem," Zell said, gesturing to the dragon woman as she got up.

"Is she the same as you?" Ayane asked him as she readied her kodachi.

"Unfortunately…seems like Donovan didn't end the program with me…" Zell stated.

"Heh, two wolves huh? Seems fitting," Dora Gon smirked as she charged at them again. The two ninja got ready and as soon as Dora Gon went after Ayane, she grabbed her hand and sung her over, then kicked her in the gut and jumped back. Dora Gon got up and ran to Zell, who proceeded to punch and kick her stomach repeatedly and then finished by drop-kicking her into the building across the one they were on the roof of.

"Maybe I went a bit too hard on her…" Zell said when he saw the hole the attack made.

"You think?" Ayane yelled.

* * *

Takashi stared at Hebi's body, not paying attention to anything else, to Kasumi, his eyes were conflicted with some deep thoughts, to the others, he looked like he had no emotion at all.

"Takashi?" Kasumi asked as she went towards him cautiously. "Taka-kun, are you ok?" she put a hand on his shoulder gently. The teen smirked and soon chuckled, which soon grew into a laugh, like that of a maniac, or as Shinji muttered, a 'Kira moment' to best describe this laugh.

"Finally!" Takashi yelled, "I finally got him! After 5 years, I got him!" He then raised his arms to the heavens and twirled in a circle, "Ya hear that dad, I won!" he laughed. Kasumi watched Takashi, now concerned for Takashi's health and mentality from this. Takashi looked at Hebi's body for a few minutes, silent, just watching him.

"Kasumi…this..this doesn't feel right…" he said in a soft tone, like someone who just came to a realization.

"Takashi…" she began.

"And I don't mean killing Hebi…I meant…was why was he holding back?" Takashi wondered aloud.

"Huh?" pretty much everyone asked.

"This can't be the man who put my father in a coma…unless he was just…" Takashi's eyes widened and he quickly pushed Kasumi out of the way. Kasumi fell on her rear but the sudden push was dampened when she saw Takashi getting stabbed by a long black object and him spitting up blood.

"Takashi!" whether it was Kasumi, or Takashi's friends and classmates who yelled out his name, it was irrelevant. Hebi slowly rose, smirking as the long object shifted into a snake and bit Takashi's side, causing him to cry out in pain.

"SSSSSSilly Kaido, you can't beat me with jussssssst that little trick, Donovan gave me sssssssome powerssssss and as a ressssssult I can't be killed jusssssst by normal meanssssss," Hebi said as he licked off the blood off Takashi's cheek, causing the teen to shiver.

"You…you fucking…" Takashi growled as the snake slithered around his neck and began to tighten its hold on him.

"Now…join your dear family…in hell" Hebi hissed with laughter as his fangs showed, preparing to bite Takashi's neck. A kunai knife that cut off the serpent's tongue stopped him and forced the snake out of Takashi, causing him to fall to the ground, a hand trying to support himself, as Kasumi and the other ran to him.

"Who daressss?" Hebi hissed. Suddenly a man clad all in black ninja attire with a katana on his back appeared, holding another kunai knife and threw it at Hebi, who dodged it this time.

"Demon of DOATEC, stay away from these children!" Ryu said as he readied himself to fight.

"Hayabussssa! I guesssssss thissssss meanssssss Mugen Tensssssshi really isssss sssssserioussssss about thissss, alright then," Hebi hissed as he prepared to summon more snakes.

"**Enough…"** a disembodied voice echoed.

"Oh sssshit…" Hebi whimpered.

"**Hebi…Dora Gon…we're pulling out, now!"** the voice ordered.

"Y-Yesss sssir!" Hebi hissed and soon shifted into the form of a snake and slithered away. Ryu was going to go after him, however the violent coughing and the sound of blood splattering onto the ground forced him not to follow Hebi. Ryu turned to look at Takashi, who now was foaming at the mouth and coughing up blood and foam from the poison as it was seeping through his system.

"Damn, was I too late?" he wondered aloud as he checked Takashi's pulse. His pulse was erratic and his veins were visible even from under his skin.

"Damn it, we got to get an antidote ready and fast, he won't make it without it…" Ryu stated.

"Say what?" Shinji hollered when Ryu picked up Takashi.

"Go home, speak nothing of what you saw, and don't try to get involved in this," Ryu said before he and Kasumi disappeared in an instant, leaving the teens alone.

* * *

**With Takashi now poisoned by Hebi, will he survive, and what of Kasumi now that her secret is revealed? Stay tune dto learn the answers on the next chapter!**


	12. Recovery

**Again, sorry for the long wait, I've been super busy...wlel...actually, its procrastination and a ton of stuff going on, one being me writing up a Golden Sun story. anywya, here's the new chapter, R&R plz!**

* * *

**Chapter 11: Recovery**

Kasumi sat on her knees as she watched Takashi sleep, still numbed from what had happened to him before. Takashi had been nearly on Death's door, coughing up bloody foam from his mouth after his duel with Hebi. Ryu managed to get him and Kasumi to a secluded forest outside the city, where he began to treat the wounds Hebi gave him, not to mention Kasumi got to see her brother Hayate.

The first minute seemed awkward for them, like meeting two strangers for the first time, but soon Kasumi hugged her brother and softly shed a few tears of happiness, with Hayate holding her like she was the last of their family left.

"Brother…I missed you…" she said, holding onto Hayate tightly.

"It's ok Kasumi, I'm right here…" Hayate said, petting her sister's head. Ryu Hayabusa watched the little family moment, before turning to Takashi, who had a hole in his abdomen and chest from Hebi's snake. He quickly got rid of the bloody foam and then began to operate on him. He slowly drew the venom out and put it in a bottle, then he began to stitch up the holes that the snake had left in Takashi's body.

The young Kaido boy whimpered from this, forcing Kasumi to hold his hand in hers and put his head on her lap, gently petting his head with the other hand. The teen calmed down a bit from this, his breathing was soft, but not rasping like a few minutes ago.

The sounds of rustling bushes forced Kasumi's head to turn away from Takashi and Zell and Ayane both appeared, only Zell looked like he just got out of a rough fight, while Ayane trying to support him. When the female tengu noticed the kunoichi princess, she dropped Zell onto the ground right then, a look of malice on her face.

"You!" she began to draw her Fuma Kodachi.

"Ayane, stand down! She's not here to hurt you," Hayate ordered as he held a hand to stop Ayane. The tengu looked at Kasumi, then she noticed that Kasumi seemed more worried…scared even. _'This isn't like her, why would she…oh my god,'_ Ayane suddenly saw Takashi as her face went from shock, to an appalled expression.

"Is that…Takashi?" she asked, pointing a kodachi at the young teen. Kasumi nodded, her face showed concern and seriousness, but also fear and sadness and worry for Takashi.

"Damn it…so I guess that means Hebi got to him…" Zell muttered.

"Hebi?" Ayane asked. Zell told Ayane about Project Z, "See the project is to create humans with the DNA of animals from the Zodiac, I myself am of the Wolf, which replaced the dog of the Zodiac, Hebi, the snake who injured Takashi, represents the Snake, while Dora Gon, the woman I fought, is the Dragon," Zell explained.

"I see…but why was Hebi after Takashi then?" Ayane asked as she glanced over the teen with her half-sister beside him.

"Probably to finish off what he failed to do years ago…now I'm more concerned with his friends, now that they know the truth," Zell stated.

"We'll have to get him out of here and fast," Ryu said once he finished treating the wounds.

"Not to mention raid his attic and get Tarou out of there," Zell added.

"We informed Tarou of what happened, he'll be here soon…" Hayate said. Shortly a moment later, the elder brother appeared with suitcases and trunks of his family's heirlooms and some clothes for him and his brother.

"The man works fast," Ryu mumbled as Tarou approached his unconscious brother.

"Hebi do this?" Tarou asked nonchalantly. The super ninja nodded as Tarou went pale, then sighed shaking.

"So…guess this means hiding is over…" he muttered.

"We should get out of here and fast, before someone finds us," Tarou stated.

"But where will we go?" Zell asked.

"A small cabin near here, we can use that to hide there until Takashi is safe enough to move, then we'll relocate to a safer area," Ryu explained as he hoisted Takashi over his shoulder. Kasumi still looked worried for him, but she was confident Ryu wouldn't endanger him. The others decided that getting to safety first would be best and soon hurried off into the forest, following Ryu to where the cabin was.

It took them at least up to half-an-hour but they reached the cabin, Ryu got Takashi onto the spare bedroom's bed and Kasumi took watch over him while the others were getting themselves ready.

"How is he?" Zell asked, concerned for his friend showing in his tone.

"He'll live, thankfully, seems like the poison can't really affect him that well," Ryu said as he removed his trademark helmet.

"I hope he's ok…but….how will we explain this to his friends?" Zell asked.

"They can't know anything about the clan, it's better for them this way," Hayate remarked as he sat on a chair in the kitchen area of the main room.

"I'm more concerned with his mentality, after that battle it must be really affecting him seeing the man who took his father from him," Ryu muttered as he went to make some tea for the group.

"Yeah…wonder what's going on in that head of his…" Zell looked at the door that held Takashi and Kasumi with a worried look on his face.

* * *

_Snakes slithered around him, hissing, curing at him, calling him weak._

You're not sssstrong enough to face usss

_The snakes slithered around Takashi's legs and began to bind him together as they formed one giant snake._

You'll never beat me!

_Takashi then saw Kasumi, looking around, scared, 'Taka-kun! Taka-kun!' she called out before snakes gathered and coiled around her, Kasumi screamed as Takashi called out to her, trying to go and save her but the snaked pulled them away._

You can't save anyone, let alone yourself!

_He saw eight heads, all glaring at him with glowing eyes, before they all flew at him, mouths wide open._

Takashi! Takashi wake up!

* * *

Takashi forced open his eyes, gasping from the horrible nightmare he just witnessed, his body numb and himself shivering from it. He felt his face resting against something soft and warm…and big…Takashi's eyes glanced at what he was in and the scent of strawberries found its way into his nose.

Now he realized where he was located and went red from it all as his stomach cooled over.

"Don't move Takashi…just stay…you're safe now…" Kasumi's voice whispered in his ear as he felt her hand petting the back of his head. Takashi was quiet for a bit, before he closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth that Kasumi's body gave off, listening to her heart beat, the whole thing was so soothing that he nearly drifted off into sleep again until the kunoichi woke him up.

"Taka-kun..are you ok?" she whispered softly to him.

"Yeah…had a bad nightmare…'s all…" he mumbled.

"You looked…you looked like you were in pain so I thought…you'd might like a hug," Kasumi blushed from saying this. Takashi smiled a little from that statement and snuggled a bit more in her chest, enjoying how warm she was.

"I guess you enjoy being there, huh?" Kasumi asked him sweetly.

"Yep" Takashi mumbled. Kasumi smiled and kept him there, in her chest, petting him, smiling as well, yeah it was a pretty good moment.

"Were you scared?" she asked him as she petted his head.

"Very…I'm scared of losing you to Hebi…" he muttered softly.

"Don't worry, if anything happens I'll protect you," Kasumi said and kissed his cheek gently. Takashi smiled gently from this and returned the kiss, only this one was on the lips. Kasumi froze for a bit, but soon melted into the kiss, enjoying every moment of it.

The two of them kissed like this, slowly starting to kiss passionately to each other until they broke for air. "Taka-kun…I love you…" Kasumi gasped for air when she said this.

"I love you too, Kasumi-chan" Takashi said and kissed her again. Kasumi and Takashi made out for a few more minutes before stopping for air and then snuggling together.

"Hey if you two want to go head to the next step, I won't mind…but can you do it more privately?" Zell asked as he had his arms crossed by the door, spooking the two teens.

"W-what are you doing here?" Takashi asked as his face turned red.

"Wanted to check up on you, but I see you two are doing ok," Zell shrugged. Takashi's face heated up with embarrassment as Kasumi held a blanket over her chest, a red tint across her cheeks.

"Kasumi, while I am thankful you got a boyfriend, I suggest you two lay off the kissing around Hayate until he gives the 'okay' for you to date him, just my advice," Zell said to the kunoichi.

Kasumi nodded softly, blushing more from the embarrassing position she was just in. "O-Okay…" he mumbled.

"But relax, I'm sure Hayate would approve of your relationship, I mean, Takashi did shelter his sister and took care of her, he has to admit that." Zell said as he left the two ninja alone. The wolf-ninja passed Hayate, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, in deep though apparently.

"What do you think?" Zell asked him.

"Well…he did protect my sister…and she does care for him…perhaps…he has helped her out, especially against Hebi" Hayate began to mull this over, leaving the wolf-ninja to leave the man alone to think things over.

'_Now..we got to wait…'_ he thought.

* * *

**And Takashi recovers from the fight, but what shall become of him now? and what of his friends, who now know of his secret, what will happen to them? All this will be shown in the next chapter.**


	13. of baths and explanations

**Ok, sorry for the huge delay, i got procrastination, and normally i would be doing college, but i don't want to, so yeah, anyway, here's the chap i promised. ^^; should mention this contains lots of fanservice so...you've been warned!**

* * *

**Chapter 12: Of baths and explanations**

Once Takashi fully recovered and felt better, he began his training with Ryu and Hayate, while Kasumi trained with Zell, mainly so Ayane couldn't get a chance to kill her. That and for Takashi's sake, having her around seemed to speed his recovery, whether he wanted to get stronger to fight and beat Hebi next time, or to protect Kasumi, it didn't matter as he was going all out in the training, something the super ninja and Mugen Tenshi clan head noticed.

"Takashi's really going all out, I guess since he's seen how strong Hebi is now, he'll have to get more powerful to beat him," Hayate surmised as he and Ryu watched Takashi train from the trees.

"Perhaps…or perhaps he wants to prove to himself…" Ryu noted.

"Well there is that too…" the Mugen Tenshi leader muttered, "Where is my sister anyway?" he asked.

"Last I saw her, she said she was going to bathe in the lake," Ryu shrugged.

Hayate shrugged and went back to the cabin, while Takashi, who was now panting and sweating from the training with Zell.

"Alright, that's enough for today, go and get yourself washed up, you reek dude," Zell stated bluntly.

"Oh gee, thanks for the support" Takashi said sarcastically as he went to the waterfall to bathe. He got a towel, and some necessities before reaching the waterfall. He soon reached the waterfall, which was this large basin of water with a rock in the middle and the waterfall behind it and smaller rocks around the waterfall's end near the mist.

Takashi loved the feel of the mist on his body from the training, but what he heard immediately cooled his insides. He heard humming, a distinct humming that belong to one person he knew. A blush appeared on his face as he peeked over the rock and saw what he had feared the most.

It was Kasumi, bathing on the other side of the rock, unaware of Takashi being there, humming to herself. To Takashi, he mentally prayed she wouldn't notice him, and the fact the mist helped hide most but the outline of her figure and hair. Takashi felt like he was going to puke from this, mainly seeing Kasumi like that, he was also scared of what she'll do to him if she found him.

"Taka-chan, come on out from behind the rock, I won't hurt you" Kasumi called from her spot. Takashi froze and peeked over to see Kasumi starting to wet her hair with the water.

The Kaido boy sighed and went forward from his hiding spot, "How'd you know?" he asked as he stood next to her.

"Your power, it's emanating from you so it makes it easier to sense you," Kasumi explained as she looked back to him, "care to join me?" she inquired with a small smile on her lips.

Takashi gaped at her for a few minutes before nodding, going over and helping her wash, to Takashi, it was a whole new experience, and he got to live out one of his fantasies as well. Kasumi's hair felt so smooth, like silk, as he washed the long orange curtain she had.

"ok, your turn," Kasumi said and started turning around.

"W-wait, what?" Takashi tried to cover his nose before he had a nosebleed from seeing Kasumi before him.

"Turn around I was only going to wash your back," Kasumi giggled as she went towards him. Takashi turned around when he felt Kasumi's hands work around his hair. Takashi's vision became blurry, both due to the mist affecting his mind, and the nosebleed he had, he lost consciousness a few minutes afterward.

* * *

Ayane was busy bathing at another lake, well more of a pond but it didn't matter, so long as she was alone. She looked down, thinking heavily about what had occurred to her in the past few days. She met Zell, who was apparently like her, fought against another one of the Zodiac kids, and learned about Takashi. Thinking of the young Kaido brothers made Ayane think about her life in the village.

'_Kasumi and I were always happy back then…but…then her mom told me she was my half-sister..that bitch, why does she get to have the attention?'_ Ayane thought bitterly and splashed some water away in disgust. She was thankful no one else was there to see her so upset…well, except for Zell, who was going to bathe in a pond but happened to notice Ayane being upset.

"Ayane?" Zell called, causing the tengu to back off and hide behind some reeds.

"W-what the hell are you doing here, pervert!" she yelled and prepared to attack him.

"whoa, easy Ayane, I just got here, I swear!" Zell stated as he hid behind a tree. Ayane sighed, but went lower into the water until her head was above the water.

"No, I should be sorry…you can come here if you want…" Ayane muttered to him, head turned away. Zell sighed, thankful he could bathe without getting killed, and went into the water and near her.

"You ok?" Zell wrapped his arms around her neck when he asked this.

"I'm fine" Ayane said, trying to mask her hurt feelings, she could do this well, mainly from all the insults she was given when she was a child.

"You're hurt…aren't you? You're jealous Kasumi's here but you can't hurt her, not to mention Takashi being here, right?" Zell inquired.

His words hit home as Ayane tried to hide her fear and surprise, but the expression she wore clearly showed how hard a nerve he hit. She looked at him but turned away, Zell catching the glimpse of a tear falling from her face and he held her closer to comfort her.

"I'm sorry…but you should be glad for Hayate, he finally gets his sister back, right?" Zell asked as he petted Ayane's head slowly.

"Y-yeah…I should be glad that he's happy," Ayane said, snuggling against Zell's chest. The wolf-boy petted and held Ayane closer, but not too close that her large bust would press onto him and be branded a pervert by her.

"Zell…thank you…" Ayane muttered softly to him, causing the wolf boy to look at her with confusion.

"What for?" he asked.

"You're one of the few people who likes me, who is nice to me. Kasumi is nice too I guess, and Lord Hayate and Master Ryu are ok, but you're the first guy whose ever been nice to me before," Ayane said and nuzzled her head against his, resting it on his shoulder.

"well you and I are a lot alike…we both got hated by our clan for who we are, you with your origins, me with…" Zell didn't want to continue, if he told her more about what he was then he knew she'd never accept him.

"you with your apparent wolf mode?" Ayane inquired, before Zell could even say anything Ayane smirked, "I saw your fight with that Dora Gon lady and saw you transform. I guess Donovan had a hand involved with you and her?" Ayane asked.

"Not just me, but others as well…" Zell muttered darkly. Ayane looked at Zell, then the wolf ears on his head, then started to scratch the ears unconsciously. Zell began to blush and let out a soft grunt of enjoyment, causing an idea to appear in Ayane's head.

"Zell…can I see your wolf mode?" Ayane asked softly. Zell looked at her, then nodded and decided to comply and shifted into the form of a wolf with red fur like fire, but it had black streaks in them along the mane and down his body. Ayane looked at the wolf and couldn't help but smiled and then hugged it. The soft fur brushed against her cheek and felt so good, like snuggling into a fur coat, only this one was alive and licking her cheek.

Ayane giggled and enjoyed the licking Zell was doing, this experience was so new for Ayane, she hadn't felt happy for a long time, but with Zell, she was starting to enjoy that old feeling of hers again. She held Zell close to her, his nuzzle against her chest, for most that would be a perverted thing, but to Zell, he was just happy she wasn't mad or scared at him for lying about who he was. Maybe this time, he might have found someone to be with after all.

* * *

Takashi began to wake up from his little nap, his head was resting against something smooth and warm. It felt vaguely familiar to him, but when he felt a set of fingers trail through his hair, he realized who it was and smiled.

"Sleep well Taka-chan?" Kasumi asked softly while he usual warm smile as he looked at Takashi, who was now resting his head on her lap.

"A lot actually, your lap proved to be as soft as your…" Takashi cut himself off before he could continue, a heavy amount of red coating his face as he turned away embarrassed.

Kasumi went red herself and looked at her chest with an innocent look on her face, "Are they really that soft?" she asked, poking her bosom a bit, causing it to jiggle a little from the poking.

"y-yes…very," Takashi blushed and looked away from having to admit that fact. He half expected her to slap him or something, instead he heard her giggle and suddenly found himself face first in her chest.

"Taka-chan, you pervert," she laughed and petted his head. "I know most guys would kill for a chance to be held like this, wouldn't they?" she asked him.

"Oh hell yeah…" Takashi said as he pinched his nose to try and hold back the nosebleed that would eventually happen.

Kasumi let him off her chest and then kissed him, to which Takashi kissed back and they spent the next few minutes making out for a bit until they stopped for air and snuggled. He nuzzled Kasumi and held onto her, "Kasumi…I…I love you…" Takashi whispered softly to her, his face red like a beat.

Kasumi smiled and hugged him back, "I love you too Takashi Kaido" she said in his ear before gently kissing his cheek. Takashi smiled and held her closer to him, the moment was perfect…until a cough from Hayate caused them both to freak out, stand up and face the Mugen Tenshi leader.

"uh, M-Master Hayate, w-we were just-"

"Just cozying up to my sister…" Hayate finished.

Takashi looked down ashamed, "yes sir…" he mumbled.

He half expected Hayate to reprimand him, but instead he had felt a hand on his shoulder and looked at Hayate.

"It's ok, I know Kasumi cares for you, and you care for her," Hayate said, "Still, Kasumi, you should know some restraint" he told her.

"Sorry onii-chan…I'll be more careful in the future" Kasumi apologized.

Hayate sighed and shook his head, "Well…I guess I'll let this one slide…but Kasumi, be prepared to protect Takashi in case something were to happen to him, besides, since he's Phoenix's son, perhaps he might help get you back into the clan" Hayate said as he jumped onto the tree branch and then jumped away from the two.

Kasumi blushed and looked at Takashi, holding his hand gently, which the young Kaido boy held as well and smiled.

"I'll get you back to your people, I promise" he said.

"I know you will Takashi…I know you will" she whispered, smiling and nuzzling her head close to his, kissing his cheek lightly.

Takashi blushed and nuzzled back, holding her against him and smiling, not wanting to let her go and ruin the moment.

* * *

"Grr, damn that Kaido boy! He killed my precious snakes!" Hebi hissed angrily as he petted the snake coiling around his arm.

"Calm down Hebi, I can't believe Zell's allied with the Mugen Tenshi Clan…and nonetheless has Ayane as a partner…" Dora Gon said as she rubbed her arms from the injuries he suffered.

"well it was both your faults that it ended up like this" a voice spoke, causing the two to freeze and turn to the owner of the voice.

"Uh…h-hey Kai" Dora Gon said nervously.

The man in question was big, burly, had shaggy black hair that hung over his eyes, and dark brown skin. He too had gold eyes like the others, but his hands were covered with hair, his attire was a sleeveless grey shirt, beige pants, and sandals with socks.

"What do you have to say for yourselves?" Kai asked as he crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at them.

The dragon girl was stuttering, while the snake boy gulped and tried to come up with something, until Kai started laughing.

"Ha! It's always good to see you both quaking with fear, it means you know your place" he boomed out cheerfully, "but anyway, Donovan requested you both begin training, no interactions with the competition until the tournament, understand?" he ordered.

"y-yes sir!" they both said, Kai nodded and left them both alone.

"Guess we need training now…" Dora Gon said to Hebi, who nodded as his snake hissed on his arm.

* * *

**Ok so now looks like there's gonna be training and lots of fighting, the next chapter will probably be with the tournament's beginning so expect lots of faces there ^^**


	14. The Tournament Begins

**Ugh, sorry for the lack of updates, I've been...well procrastinating, i keep forgetting to write and generally I've been, well neglecting my writing a lot. So sorry about this. Anyway, please enjoy this chapter, you all earned it for the long wait**

* * *

**Chapter 13: The Tournament Begins**

The month in which the Dead or Alive tournament soon came, with Takashi and Zell arriving at the pier in which the boat would dock. Both of them had trained with Kasumi, Ayane, Hayate and Ryu during the time before the tournament, and their skills had improved a lot over the weeks. He had to hide from his friends during the training, plus he couldn't even dare explain who Kasumi was, or anything on his past.

"Well…can't believe I'm here…" Takashi said as he sat down on a crate on the docks of harbor. Takashi and the others got a letter from their cabin detailing where to go for the tournament, which would mean they would be on a cruise ship as it traveled the world while they found in the tournament.

"Don't worry Takashi, the other contestants are nice, fairly strong too, but most of them are friendly," Kasumi said reassuringly.

"thanks Kasumi" he smiled at her as he looked out into the bay, wondering when the boat was going to arrive.

"You sure we got the right directions?" Zell asked Hayate as he was leaning against a crate.

"They gave step by step directions to the dock, I'm sure they wouldn't do this just to spite us" Hayate said to the wolf-teen.

The sound of a ship's horn rang in their ears as they saw their ship slowly coming into port. The ship was a yacht, a very expensive looking one at that. Takashi was in awe over the size of the ship, Zell was also surprised by it, but he tried to not show it as much as the others.

"Are you saying this is where the tournament will be held on?" Takashi asked in awe as he stared at the ship docking into port.

"Yep, now come on Takashi" Zell said as he got his bag and went up the gangplank with the others following.

Takashi nodded and got his own bag, following the group onto the ship, then looked around the place, amazed by how big it was, and how expensive it was. He bumped into Zell, who was being led by a bellhop, as were the others, to their rooms. Each of the contestants were given a room near each other's, which thankfully would mean they were close in case something happened to them and they needed to get to their room fast.

Takashi looked at his own room, a large, queen-sized bed, red rug, a chair, desk, and even a private bathroom for him, as well as a great view of the ocean from his room. Takashi parked his bags and smiled as he looked out the window to the ocean.

"man…this place is beautiful…" he smiled softly as he looked out at the sea.

Wanting to explore the ship a bit more, he got out of his room and walked down the hallway, exploring the ship and what it had to offer. Unfortunately he was paying little attention to what was in front of him and bumped into someone.

"oh, sorry about that," he said as he looked at who was in front of him and paled when he saw the person in front of him.

The person in front of him was six feet and eleven inches tall and very muscular, having black hair that reached towards his upper neck and gold eyes, similar to Takashi's. He wore a grey shirt with a skull imprint on it, what looked to be a sleeveless undershirt under the said skull shirt and had a brown leather jacket. He wore black pants and also had Timberland boots on. The man had a pair of biker gloves, both black, and also had a necklace-chain with a cross on it and a set of rosary beads around his neck.

Takashi just stared blankly at the man and paled, taking a few steps back while the man gave him a confused look.

"Uh…you ok?" the man asked in a surprisingly soft tone for someone his age.

"um…y-yeah" Takashi stuttered.

"You sure?"

"P-Positive" Takashi nodded.

The boy looked at Takashi as he scampered away, leaving the boy confused as he tilted his head to show his confusion. Takashi rounded a corner and then sighed as he began to look around some more, until he felt a light tap on his shoulder and turned, seeing Kasumi behind him, hands behind her back, looking at him curiously.

"Where were you Takashi? You up and left after you checked out your room," she asked while standing next to her.

"Well…I kinda wanted to check out the ship some more and bumped into this big guy, then got scared and ran off," the young man said as he scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Would he be that man over there?" Kasumi pointed to behind him, where the same man from before loomed over Takashi, causing him to freak out and jump to Kasumi's side.

"Dude, don't do that!" Takashi yelled as he tried to calm down.

"Um, sorry, I didn't know you knew miss Kasumi," the man said and bowed politely.

"Oh…please, don't be so formal, my name's Kasumi, what's yours?" the kunoichi asked the Spaniard.

"My name is Miguel Vasquez," Miguel said politely.

"Miguel? The famous boxer/martial artist from Spain?" Takashi asked. He had heard of a fighter from Spain in his class, but he never thought that it would be this guy before them.

"Yeah, that's me, and before you ask, no I'm not 20, I'm only 19," Miguel said, much to the surprise of Takashi.

"Seriously? You look…older than that," Takashi muttered while looking at the brute of a teenager.

"comes with the exercise," Miguel shrugged.

"I noticed that much…" Takashi muttered, feeling slightly inferior to the Spaniard and mentally vowing to get more muscular to try and compete with her.

"Um…Taka-kun? The others are meeting in the ballroom for the announcement," Kasumi reminded the Kaido boy.

"Oh right, the opening ceremonies, you coming with us Miguel?" Takashi asked their new friend.

"W-With you two? Uh…ok, sure" Miguel smiled a bit as the two teens followed Kasumi to where the others where. Miguel was surprised as to Takashi knowing the infamous Kasumi, as well as her family and friends.

They reached the ballroom where Ayane and the others where, and Miguel gulped a bit when meeting Ayane, trying not to be intimidated, or embarrassed by her figure, and not incurring Zell's wrath. Takashi looked around the place, amazed by how beautiful it looked, and wondering how much DOATEC shelled out for the entire ship and tournament after the Tri-Tower incident.

"About time you showed up, we were wondering where you two went," Zell said, then noticed Miguel, "who's this?" he asked as he looked at the Spaniard.

"Miguel Vasquez, a new fighter from Spain," Takashi said.

"Wait, Miguel 'The Bull' Vasquez?" Zell asked, intrigued that the infamous martial artist was right before them.

"Yes, that's me" Miguel smiled a bit and offered a handshake to Zell.

Zell took the handshake and smiled, glad to meet the martial artist of renown as him. Takashi looked around and then noticed some other people, then gulped when he realized the others were the other fighters of the DOA tournaments in the past, like Hitomi, Zach, Kokoro, and of course Tina Armstrong…and her overprotective father, Bass.

Takashi looked away, blushing a bit from seeing one of his favorite fighters before him…that and he didn't want to incur Bass's wrath either. _'I just hope they don't notice me'_ he thought.

"Kasumi, there you are, good to see you again" Hitomi called as she went and nearly bear-hugged the kunoichi.

"It's good to see you too Hitomi" Kasumi said as she was a bit surprised by the hug. Hitomi let go then noticed Takashi and Zell.

"Oh, who are these two?" she asked, looking at Takashi who was trying to advert his gaze.

'_Son of a bitch! Not good…think Takashi, think!'_ the Kaido boy thought as he tried to think of a introduction.

Fortunately, Kasumi saved him further embarrassment when she interjected, "This is Takashi Kaido, he's one of the newest contestants that was allowed to enter, he's a little shy, him being one of the tournament's many fans, so he's just nervous about making a bad impression," Kasumi explained.

Takashi was momentarily surprised, mentally thanking Kasumi over for the explanation, "Uh yeah, that's it, I just don't want to make a bad impression in front of you guys" Takashi mumbled while still looking away, scratching his head with slight embarrassment.

"Heheh, aww, it's ok, don't be so formal, the name's Hitomi, nice to meet you Takashi" The German-Japanese said cheerfully and shook his hand eagerly.

"It's nice to meet you Takashi-san, my name is Kokoro" a young woman wearing a kimono said and bowed politely.

"Nice to meet you too, Kokoro-san" Takashi said and bowed politely.

"See Takashi, you're not making a bad impression" Zell said in a slight cheerful tone.

"Easy for you to say Zell, you're scared of Ayane castrating you if you screwed up," Takashi retorted, then hid behind Kasumi when he saw Ayane give a death glare at him.

"Alright Kasumi, you got a lot of explaining to do, like how you two met," Hitomi giggled from watching the scene before her.

"Well, how about when the opening ceremonies are done first?" the orange haired kunoichi suggested.

The nodded to that agreement just as the ceremonies began as Victor Donovan appeared himself.

'So that's Donovan…' Takashi, as did the other ninjas, thought as the head appeared before them in a white pinstripe suit and his blonde hair combed back neatly.

"Ladies and gentlemen, veteran fighters and new ones, allow me personally to welcome you all to the Fifth Dead or Alive Tournament. Many of you know the rules, and many don't, so I'll explain: There's a one million cash prize and only one person can win. The tournament is simple: beat your opponent to advance in the ranks, you'll be taken to fight in different areas of the world and sometimes on the ship, but once the finals start, the last fighter will have to face me in a one-on-one-all-for-nothing-fight-to-the-death" Donovan explained.

"Did he just say 'fight-to-the-death'?" Takashi asked, wanting to get clarification of what he said.

"He did" Kasumi nodded, holding Takashi's hand close to hers.

"Not before the final match will it be a death duel, the rest of the fights will be the regular K.O fights," Donovan explained.

Takashi, as well as a few of the others listening, let out a sigh of relief, but Takashi was still a bit paranoid about the death match idea.

"Now, with all the preparations concluded, I would like to announce that the fifth dead or Alive tournament is now under way, please enjoy the buffet, then rest up for tomorrow's beginning match" Donovan said as he left the podium.

"Well…that was certainly…interesting…" Takashi mumbled to himself.

"I'm more concerned on that death match at the end…anyone with me on that?" Hitomi asked them.

"Who cares? At least this time we might get a chance to kill Donovan," Ayane huffed.

"Given what he's done, I wonder what else he's got up his sleeve?" Takashi muttered.

"Yeah…wait…where's Zell?" Kasumi asked, noticing the wolf boy was gone.

"Gone to eat the buffet, better hurry before he eats it all" Hitomi pointed to Zell, who was busy getting some food on the buffet.

"Hey, save some for me!" Takashi said as he ran to the table to get a plate, only to bump into someone, who was none other than Tina Armstrong.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bump into you," he stuttered with embarrassment.

"Oh no, its fine, we both didn't know who was here.." Tina looked at Takashi and had a little smirk on her face, "say, your new aren't you? You got that innocent expression on your face that basically says that" tine stated, causing Takashi to blush more, "Oh don't be embarrassed, it's cute being the new person, oh my name's Tina Arms-"

"T-Tina Armstrong, daughter of Bass Armstrong, famous model/rock star/wrestler/actress and one of the more popular girls of DOA, I-I've heard a lot about you," Takashi finished for her.

"Heh, seems like I have a fan" Tina giggled, much to Kasumi's slight annoyance.

"A cute one at that" Hitomi chimed, much to both Takashi and Kasumi's dismays.

"Got that right, so, I guess you want an autograph Takashi?" Tina asked with a small grin on her face. The Kaido boy nodded and fished out one of the DOA magazines he used to read, this one having Kasumi on the cover, as well as her autograph.

"Well, well, guess Kasumi beat me to the first autograph" Tina smirked as she glanced at the kunoichi, who was blushing a bit.

"She's also one of my favorites" Takashi said honestly, earning a small smile from Kasumi.

"Aww, how come Kasumi got the cute, protective one?" Hitomi teased, causing Takashi to glow red with embarrassment and head to the buffet table to eat the embarrassment away.

"Come on guys, quit teasing him, he's new here, we should at least show some courtesy" Leifang said as she walked up to the group.

"How long were you there?" Kasumi asked her wondering how long she had been watching them.

"Not long, so, how did you meet Takashi anyway Kasumi?" she asked her curiously, plus the others all had curious looks, wanting to hear her story.

"Well, it started like this" Kasumi began as she told how she met Takashi and his brother, then about everything else that happened up to now.

Takashi meanwhile, was looking out into the distance from a window as he remembered the talk he and his friends had a few weeks ago when they finally tracked him down…or rather, when Takashi was busy getting to move his stuff out of his house.

* * *

**Flashback**

_It was a few weeks before the tournament, and Takashi had returned to his old home, surprised it was still well kept despite him being gone nearly a month._

'Shinji…Daichi…Saito…sorry I didn't tell you guys sooner…' _he thought as he went to his room to get some of his things to bring back to the cabin._

"_I knew you'd come back…" a familiar voice said from behind him as the Kaido boy turned and found Shinji, his arms crossed as he leaned against the door frame._

"_S-Shinji? W-when did you get here?" Takashi stuttered as he nearly leapt back._

"_Dude, don't be scared…listen, we need to talk," he began._

"_what do you mean 'we'?" Takashi asked, then stopped talking as he silently watched his friends and various schoolmates come in, as if expecting him._

"_Uh…someone tell me what's going on?" Takashi asked nervously as he braced himself to make a run for it._

"_Listen, all we want is an answer, an explanation, Takashi," Shinji said sternly._

_Takashi sighed, then sat looked at them, "ok…but…promise me you won't freak out?" he asked. They nodded and Takashi told them to sit as he gave his story._

"_Ok, so turns out my dad was this infamous ninja of renown in the Mugen Tenshi village known as the "Phoenix of the Mugen Tenshi" and my family was once part of the clan until we were ran out due to something DOATEC did, and apparently I knew Kasumi from when I was little," Takashi explained._

"_Wait, hang on, you were a Mugen Tenshi ninja?" Daichi asked, confused by what their friend was telling them._

"_Yeah, once…" he mumbled._

"_So how did you meet Kasumi anyway?" Saito asked as he crossed his legs._

"_I think I'd like to tell that part of the story" a familiar voice said, causing them all to turn and gasp at the infamous orange kunoichi standing by the window frame to the patio._

"_K-Kasumi-chan!" Takashi exclaimed with surprise as he stood up._

"_Taka-kun, relax, its time I told them the truth" Kasumi said calmly as she went and sat down in the chair next to Takashi._

"_Y-You're the real K-Kasumi" one of the kunoichi's former school friends stuttered in pure awe._

"_Yes, and please forgive me for not telling you all before, I had wanted to leave once I was rested enough, but I made a promise to protect Taka-k—I mean Takashi, so I stayed. I had to hide my identity for fear my clan would attack all of you, but when I realized Takashi was Phoenix's son…well…I wanted to get to know him some more and stayed longer than I should've…" Kasumi's cheeks went a little pink from that statement._

"_Then Ayane came and nearly killed Takashi, who then awoke his powers, and we met Zell, after that, I began training Takashi so he could better defend himself incase Ayane came back…only…it wasn't Ayane but someone worse…" Kasumi trailed off and looked away shamefully._

"_You talking about that snake guy?" Shinji asked._

"_Hebi…and yeah, 'that snake guy' was the one who crashed the festival…and…" Takashi paused and looked down, as if what he was going to say next was troubling to him. "that…that bastard was the one…who poisoned my father…" he stated._

_No one spoke, a few girls gasped, but Shinji and the guys knew better, after all, Takashi was their friend, so he didn't need to tell them._

"_Takashi…w-we didn't know…" one of the girls said honestly._

"_That explains why you were all angst that year," one of them muttered._

"_yeah, so anyway, that's why I left the city and dropped off the radar until now, I came back to get some things," Takashi said._

"_Are you leaving for somewhere?" one of the girls asked curiously._

"_Well…that's another thing I was going to tell you…" Takashi said as he pulled out an envelope and held it between his fingers, smirking a bit when they saw it had his name on it._

"_I'm the newest contestant for the DOA tournament" he smiled._

**End Flashback**

* * *

Takashi sighed, he told his friends everything and all they did was wish him luck in the tournament, he expected they told the others at the school, since he had gotten his graduation diploma when graduation hit despite not being there. He had a feeling the teachers found out about him entering the tournament so they let him get his diploma.

'I'm finally here…now I just have to win,' he thought as he looked out as Tokyo Bay was growing more faint in the distance.

"Takashi, it's getting late, we should get some sleep" Kasumi said as she gently held her arm around his.

"Sleep does sound good right now" he said softly as he headed to his room to sleep, mainly since he had stuffed himself with a lot of food and wanted to sleep for a few hours until tomorrow.

Zell had already retired for the night, as did some of the other contestants, with Ayane heading to her bed and looked at the ceiling, "Tomorrow it begins…" she said.

"…The tournament will probably be more than just simple fighting…" Hayate said as he looked out at the moon from his window.

"…Donovan will have tricks up his sleeve, most likely more Zodiac kids…" Ryu muttered softly under his breath as he leaned against the wall outside the ship.

"And this time…I'll get my revenge on Hebi…" Takashi muttered softly as he laid back on the bed and tried to get some sleep, he needed the rest for tomorrow.

* * *

Meanwhile, the snake boy was busy in a dark room with monitors that had all videos of the fighters of the DOA tournament in the past, grinning as he petted the snake coiled around his arm.

"Perfect…thisss is grand…they believe they're ssssafe, but they don't know a sssserpent can hide in plain ssssight of everyone!" he hissed with glee as he looked at his arm.

"Takassshi…Kaido…we will sssettle thisss little feud sssoon…jussst wait" he said as he petted his snake, laughing once again.

* * *

**And this the story truely kicks off, now if anyone has suggestions on who should fight who, please write the suggestions in the reviews please, also arena choices for each fight would be great ^^. And also, Hebi is kinda gonna act like Reji from Beyblade Metal Masters but slightly different...or not, still pending on that, but anyway, Hebi and Reji are alike, since they both use serpents/snakes, they both are slightly creepy, though Hebi is...well...you'll see soon enough. Anyway R&R plz.**


	15. Ayane vs Christie

**Ok, so after some procrastination on my part and lack of motivation on my part, i managed to get this chapter up thankfully. Its short, but this will be updated when i am able to update it. So, enjoy my chap ^^**

* * *

**C****hapter 14: Ayane vs. Christie**

The alarm blared in Takashi's room, forcing the black haired teen to wake up, though the alarm was eventually shut off, he was too lazy to get out of bed, it was so warm, the sound of the ocean in his ears from the window made him drowsy and just wanted to stay there all day.

His bed did feel warmer though, so he got up and felt his body was warmer, yet he didn't feel sick at all, which was strange for him. He got up and looked over his bed, wondering why it was warm, he then looked at his hands and felt his body was warmer than normal, then realized, it was probably his fire abilities that have been kicking in ever since a month ago.

"Guess I still need to learn control…" Takashi mumbled and fixed his bed until he heard a knock on his door.

"Come in" he called, then the door opened and it was Kasumi who entered. The orange haired kunoichi wore her trademark blue kunoichi outfit with kodachi behind her on her hip.

"Good Morning, Taka-kun" Kasumi smiled to her friend as he looked at her.

"Wow…um…morning to you too" Takashi blushed as he looked away a bit.

"Did you sleep well?" Kasumi asked as she sat on the bed's edge, noticing how warm it was and wondered if Takashi just ironed it.

"Very good actually…um…you want to grab some breakfast?" Takashi suggested to the kunoichi.

Kasumi nodded, smiling and walked out first, followed by Takashi, until he bumped into Zell.

"Oh, sorry man" he apologized, then noticed Zell glaring at him, not mad, but something else.

"Guess your powers are kicking in?" Zell asked in a low tone, forcing Takashi to nod when he realized the real meaning.

"Yeah…I thought my powers were under control…maybe…maybe being around some Zodiac kids on this boat is affecting them?" Takashi asked softly so no one would hear them.

"Maybe…" Zell mused.

"why haven't you gotten affected yet?" Takashi asked the teen confusingly.

"Simple: I have better control over my powers since I've been a Z-kid longer than you, see there are two sides, those who were genetically altered with animal DNA, and those who were chosen from the zodiac beasts themselves." Zell explained. "Those who were genetically altered won't have the powers a spiritually chosen Z-kid would have but make up for it in some abilities the animal has, spirit ones have a lot more benefits" Zell told the Kaido boy as they walked, dragging behind Kasumi so she wouldn't hear.

"Hmm…sounds cool the way I see it," Takashi smiled a bit as they reached the large dining hall and saw some of the other combatants all eating.

Kasumi sat down next to Hitomi while Takashi sat beside her and Zell with Ayane, who was busy eating next to Leifang. Takashi ate, though he was a bit uncomfortable being between her and Tina Armstrong…who had her father sitting beside her which made it all the more awkward.

"So, Taka-kun, Kasumi told us you know how to fight" Tina began as she looked at the embarrassed Kaido boy.

"Well, it was mostly to get rid of bullies, nothing special" Takashi said modestly, trying to not act like a fangirl for her talking to him.

"Bully problems? The way I heard you fight, you could easily solve the bully problem of yours in a snap" Tina said as she snapped her fingers to emphasize her point.

"As appealing as that sounds…I'm not much of a violent person" Takashi kidded as he ate some French toast.

"Ayane told us differently" Hitomi cooed as she wagged her finger back and forth, "she told us you're a violent beast when you two were fighting each other," she giggled.

"T-That was because she was going to hurt Kasumi-chan" Takashi stuttered.

"So you nearly kill me just to save the princess? Violent much…" Ayane smirked from the little joke.

"Ayane, Takashi beat you fair and square, you do have to honor that," Hayate spoke.

"Sorry Master Hayate…" the lavender kunoichi mumbled.

"Say, who's going to fight today anyway?" Takashi asked, now realizing once they finished they'd have to fight one of them soon.

"They said it'll be announced once breakfast is over" Helena explained as she was sipping her tea casually.

"Great…wonder what place will be chosen to fight in first?" Takashi mumbled under his breath. The contestants finished eating their breakfast as a large flat screen appeared, then showed a tournament roster and began randomly selecting participants from the bottom for a few seconds and soon showed the results.

**First Match: Ayane vs. Christie**

**Second Match: Takashi vs. Tina**

**Third Match: Zell vs. Hayate**

**Fourth Match: Miguel vs. Bass**

**Fifth Match: Leifang vs. Jan Lee**

**Sixth Match: Hebi vs. Kokoro**

**Seventh Match: Helena vs. Dora-Gon**

**Eighth Match: Hitomi vs. Ken**

**Ninth Match: Kasumi vs. Ryu**

**Tenth Match: Brad Wong vs. Elliot**

**Eleventh Match: Leon vs. Zack**

The roster showed the pairings of each fighter as the contestants looked at one another.

"Guess me and Taka-kun are gonna fight against each other, you won't go easy on me, will ya?" Tina asked with a wink at the flustering Kaido boy.

"Um…normally I wouldn't hit girls…but since I got no other choice to fight, I look forward to fighting you, Tina-san" Takashi smiled.

"Aw, thanks Taka-kun" Tina smirked, causing the Kaido boy to blush, yet it also made Kasumi a bit jealous.

"Anyway…I wonder where we'll all be fighting?" Kasumi said, trying to change the subject as best she could and not sound jealous.

"There's an arena here you can use to fight each other," a voice spoke, with Tina beaming when she saw a woman with tanned skin, brown hair and brown eyes wearing a lab coat walking towards them.

"Lisa! What are you doing here?" Tina asked happily as she hugged her friend.

"Good to see you too Tina, glad to see your still going to be in this tournament, as with all of you" Lisa said to the other contestants.

The others nodded and headed to the arena, but Zell stayed back and looked at Lisa. "good to see your doing well Lisa" he said and hugged her a bit.

"Glad to see your still alive after what Donovan did to you," Lisa said and hugged back.

"I guess you were working on the other Z kids?" Zell asked when he let go of her.

"Yes and no…I recently got back into the fold, though I use the money as a professional luchadore to my advantage, I only joined to learn what Donovan is planning, my successor is in charge of the new Z kids…" Lisa explained sadly to him.

"Figures…guess Donovan's after something with the Zodiac kids…but what I wonder…" Zell muttered softly.

"You should go to the others before they get curious as to where you are" Lisa reminded him, who agreed to the logic and ran to where the fight would be taking place.

When Zell found the others they saw a large arena-like area where Ayane and a white haired, busty woman who Zell could tell was Christie, were fighting. Christie blocked Ayane's punches and grabbed her arm, then twisted it and flung her over her shoulder, following up with a kick to her gut that sent Ayane spinning and flying away from her.

'_She's learned a few new moves…Superior will want to learn of this'_ Zell thought as he secretly pulled out some sunglasses to block out the sunlight, but also acted as a hidden camera showing direct feed to his boss's office.

Ayane skidded and stumbled slightly to get up, then flew at Christie, expecting the violet kunoichi to punch her, but she disappeared in a flash of purple light, confusing Christie long enough for Ayane to reappear and kicked her side, then went and delivered a few aerial kicks and slammed her heel down onto Christie's right shoulder, causing her to skid away and tumble onto the ground.

"I know all of Ayane's training would pay off" Hayate said with a bit of pride in his tone.

"Mainly because she practiced on me…" Takashi mumbled and shuddered, remembering how Ayane was particularly more aggressive in their training with the Kaido boy, though it must've been Kasumi being around that made her nearly kill him a few times in training just to spite her.

"Hah! Guess we know who was the human punching bag" Bass smirked a bit hearing that last part.

"Hmm, I wonder how long it'll take for you to sink to the bottom of the pool, Bass…" Zack wondered aloud as he tapped his finger on his chin.

"It's a little windy, don't make me fly you like a kite…" Bass grumbled to the former owner of the island named after him…twice.

"Um…If you two are done? Can we focus on the fight?" Takashi interjected politely as he returned to watching the fight, with the two rivals agreeing to settle their discussion later.

Ayane did a triple back flip, then once she landed on the wall, used her feet to shoot herself at Christie and preformed a spin-kick on her. Christie blocked it but suddenly Ayane swept her feet, causing her to lose balance and for Ayane to grab her arm and flung her skyward, then jumped, grabbed Christie's arms in a lock from behind and plunged down, then let go and proceeded to pile drive her heal into Christie's gut, causing a small crater to form from the impact.

"Whoa…" Takashi said with awe at the move she preformed.

"That had to hurt…" Zell winced a bit from the impact of the blow.

Ayane got up, brushing herself off as she looked at Christie, seeing that the white haired woman was still alive, but the blow had possibly caused some internal damage and some broken ribs. She watched two medics come in with a stretcher and put her on it, taking her to the infirmary.

"Looks like I win" Ayane smirked as she disappeared and then reappeared behind Zell.

"Nice job Ayane" Zell smiled and hugged her, which she enjoyed.

"Thanks Zell, and Takashi, good luck in your match" she told him.

"Yeah…" he mumbled, now scared to fight Tina and invoke Bass's wrath…and partially blaming Ayane for making quick work of Christie, when he had wanted to relax a bit and watch the fight.

"Good luck Taka-kun" Kasumi said and pecked his cheek to give him some encouragement.

The Kaido boy blushed a bit, smiling softly as he went down to the arena, as well as Tina who did the same. "Good luck Taka-kun" Tina winked at him, causing the Kaido boy even more embarrassment.

He nodded and walked down the stairs, "why did it have to be me?" he exclaimed as he went down the stairs.

* * *

**Well Ayane easily beats Christie in the first round, now Takashi must fight Tina. Can he be able to beat Tina without invoking her father's wrath on him? Well...personally, not gonna happen with Bass around XP Anyway, hope you like the chap, stay tuned and R&R plz**


	16. Double Battle!

**Ok, sorry for the lack of updates, been procrastinating and depressed as usual, anyway here's the new chapter, this one was a pain to write given Tina and Bass's infamous reps as being strong as heck, so yeah it was hard to decide who'd win ^^; anyway enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 15: Double Battle!**

"Ok, just calm down Takashi, just try to think of something else…pretend that its…Kokoro that you're fighting…oh god I'm so screwed…" he sighed as he got into the elevator, trying to hold back his nervousness…and nausea.

"Think Takashi will last against Tina?" Zell asked Kasumi, who looked a little worried for her friend.

"Assuming he can beat Tina without enraging Bass…that'll be hard…" Kasumi muttered softly.

"If he can do that, kid's got my respect, if he doesn't, well, he'll be turned into a pancake by Bass" Zack shrugged, having overheard them.

"He does anythin' fresh with my daughter, and I will beat him into next week" Bass grumbled as he tightened his fist.

"Takashi wouldn't do that, he's too nice a guy," Zell stated to the wrestler.

"If you say so, I'll believe it when I see it…" Bass shrugged as he watched his daughter and Takashi go into the arena.

"You do realize I won't hold back on you, right Takashi?" Tina asked as she stretched her arms.

"I kind of figured that much, I won't hold back either…though I just hope your father doesn't get mad when I beat you," Takashi gave a light smirk from that comment as he got himself into his stance.

"Don't worry, just don't go easy on me because I'm a girl, ya' hear?" Tina asked as she got herself into her stance, arms ready to punch him.

"I wasn't planning on it!" Takashi said as the prompter yelled out 'Begin!' to start the match. The Kaido boy went and charged at Tina, flinging punches at her, which she blocked and then grabbed his arm, to try a grapple on him over her shoulder.

Takashi was flung over Tina's shoulder, but managed to grab her arm, swing over her and delivered a kick to her face, making her stumble as her cheek burned a bit from the hit, yet besides some redness on her cheek, there didn't look to be any damage to her.

"Wow, I guess the bio of you on that magazine wasn't kidding when it said you can take a kick…" Takashi said in slight awe as Tina began to deliver some punches to him in retaliation for the kick.

"Aww, thanks for the compliment," Tina smirked and Takashi dodged a fist that nearly got him in the face, only to suddenly have Tina grab him from behind, arms locked under his armpits and her large bust pressing on his back as she proceeded to flip him.

"Crap!" Takashi yelled as he struggled to get out of the lock before he was dropped down to earth…hard.

"Ouch" Zell winced when he saw his friend get slammed onto the ground.

"Damn that had to hurt" Zack called out.

Takashi got up, stumbling as his vision was blurry and his body was wobbly from the impact, "Ugh…ok…that hurt…" Takashi groaned as he shook his head to clear the blurriness.

"Huh, not many guys can usually survive that, you're lucky" Tina smirked as she went onto the offensive, attacking the still dazed Takashi.

He barely managed to dodge a few hits, but most of them hit his body, feeling like a ton of weights that were being flung at him. Takashi jumped back and panted, sweating some due to the attacks Tina laid on him. He decided to go on the offensive and began to attack her, deciding not to hold back as he began performing combos of punches and kicks on her, forcing Tina to block most of them.

Takashi did a leg sweep, causing Tina to stumble as he went, grabbed her head and flipped her, then went and slammed her onto the ground, causing a crater to form from the impact.

"Tina!" Bass yelled as he took a few steps back and jumped over the railing into the arena, yelling as he was about to punch Takashi for hurting his daughter. Takashi barely was able to dodge before the fist impacted the ground, causing a larger crater to form from the existing crater.

"Did he just jump?" Zell asked, stunned by what just happened.

"Takashi!" Kasumi called out, seeing the Kaido boy skid from the angry Armstrong.

"I guess this is a double battle!" Miguel smirked as he jumped down to help Takashi out.

The propter was trying to get Bass away from nearly killing Takashi, unfortunately he got a call and answered it .

"Sir, with all due respect…y-yes sir but Bass clearly broke…n-no sir I'm not disobeying orders…alright sir…" he went to the mic. and said in a loud voice, "alright listen up, Mr. Donovan has agreed to change the nature of this fight into a double battle, Takashi and Miguel vs. the Armstrongs, the match is to continue now," he told them.

"A Double Battle huh? This outta be good…" Jann Lee smirked as he leaned on the railing to watch the fight.

"Geez, now Takashi has to deal with Bass out to kill him," Ayane said, feeling a bit sorry for the Kaido boy at that moment, though only slightly.

"Taka-kun…" Kasumi whispered as she held her hand where her heart was on her chest, worried for him.

"Chill Kasumi, Takashi can take care of himself" Zell reassured her, or tried to at least.

Meanwhile Takashi was busy fighting Tina while Bass was in the middle of a duel between him and Miguel, and despite the Spaniard's stature compared to Bass, he was holding his own against the wrestler.

Miguel punched Bass's gut, who blocked it and attempted to throw him into the wall, but Miguel grabbed his arm and used all his might to fling him off. Bass slammed onto the ground, causing a crater to appear before the hulking mass of muscle got up, forcing Miguel away as Bass charged and grappled him, the two trying to overpower the other.

"You're pretty good kid," Bass said as he struggled to get the upper hand in their fight.

"You too, Mr. Armstrong," Miguel smirked as he tried to push Bass back.

While the men were busy trying to overpower each other, Tina and Takashi were busy fighting each other trying to win, though Takashi's body was battered, he was trying to survive, normally, he would've possibly died from all those blows Tina gave him, but thanks to the training he got, he managed to last a lot more than normally, though his body still hurt, he had to try and last Tina until she gave up.

Tina meanwhile, despite having some bruises and cuts, as well as bleeding from the side of her face, she looked a lot better than Takashi did. Takashi panted, holding his side from the last kick she delivered to him, which possibly broke one or two of his ribs on impact and he spat some blood out.

"How much pain can that kid take?" Zack asked, surprised with how long he lasted against Tina.

"A lot longer than you normally would," Hayate smirked from the comment.

"I'm more amazed that he can stand up to Tina's punches, guess you trained him well, huh Kasumi?" Hitomi grinned, nudging the kunoichi playfully.

"Don't judge him out just yet, he's got some tricks up his sleeve, he won't go down that easily," Kasumi said, hopeful that he would win this match.

"I'm more concerned for the fact that Miguel is fighting Bass," Zell stated as he watched the Spaniard fight the pro wrestler, and was surprised by how long he was holding his ground for.

"I heard he competed in the junior division of wrestling and came out on top," Zack said.

"That explains his moves, yet…they seem to lean in a mix of Muay Thai and boxing…an interesting combination," Ryu stated with a hint of admiration for the young fighter as he slammed Bass into the wall, causing the whole ship to shake.

"We're going to need to fix the arena when this is over…" the prompter mumbled to himself as he watched the tag-team match continue.

Miguel and Bass were busy in a grappling match, Bass had the upper hand given his age and his strength, though Miguel was younger and more fast so he could hit Bass more. The pro wrestler grabbed the Spaniard and flung him around before letting him go, sending him flying and crashed into Takashi, who had been busy fighting Tina the whole time, didn't see Miguel being flung and ended up getting crashed into him and sent into the wall of the arena.

"Takashi!" both Kasumi and Tina yelled when they saw the teen got slammed into the wall.

"Ooh that had to hurt" Zack winced loudly from seeing the impact.

Takashi winced as he pushed Miguel off of him, falling on to the ground as he rolled his neck slightly, groaning from having been slammed into the wall.

"You ok?" Miguel asked as he got up as well.

"Besides nearly getting smashed by you into a wall, I'm good," the teen grunted as he rolled his shoulders a bit.

"Ready for more fighting?" the Spaniard asked as he cracked his knuckles, looking at Bass.

"Yep, this time, let's switch" Takashi suggested as he looked at Tina, then Bass.

"Sounds like a plan man," Miguel shrugged as he charged at Tina, while Takashi went after Bass.

"Ok, I will admit, Takashi is either stubborn, or he's very determined…or both" Ayane stated.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you've started to like having him around" Kasumi interjected.

"I-I do not! I just admire the fact he's a determined fighter 'is all I'm saying," Ayane said as she crossed her arms, a hint of pink on her cheeks.

"Then why are you blushing?" Hitomi asked with a teasing grin on her face. Ayane shot her a cold glare and Hitomi backed off, though Zell put a hand on her shoulder and gestured to the fight going on.

Ayane shrugged but watched Takashi fighting Bass, despite the Kaido boy's stature, he was trying his best to injure the pro wrestler. Bass's body was like steel, or rather his body was like steel and Takashi hitting and punching him was like hitting it with a hammer…or more accurately, a regular hammer, his punches and kicks were able to leave some bruises, unlike Miguel who managed to leave a few dents in Bass.

Miguel himself was sparring with Tina, who was holding her ground, the two near evenly matched with each other, though Tina was slightly injured from the fight with Takashi, Miguel was worse off from fighting Tina's father. His body, despite being bruised and possibly having a few sprained muscles…and at least a broken bone or two, he still wanted to fight.

Tina panted, sweat accumulating on her body from fighting two opponents, she had to admit the boxer was good, plus his Muay Thai wasn't that bad either, still her body wouldn't last long, as much as she hated to admit defeat, she knew when she was finished.

"Ok, that's enough, I got to admit you and Takashi are good fighters," Tina replied.

"Same to you, guess you're giving up?" Miguel asked her, his body having reached its limit a while ago despite the two's fight.

"Yeah, my body's pretty thrashed, I'd go on fighting a bit more but after fighting Takashi first, I guess I'm a bit exhausted, propter, I forfeit," Tina said to the propter.

"Alright, Tina Armstrong forfeits, Miguel Vasquez wins!"the propter yelled.

Bass, who now was on the verge of pile-driving Takashi into the ground, overheard this and looked at his daughter, "What?" he hollered.

This distraction proved useful for Takashi, as he got out of the grab, jumped and delivered a drop-kick that made his heel smash into Bass's head, causing a large crater to form on impact with the ground. Everyone covered their faces from the dust and the wind that picked up from the attack, when the dust settled, Takashi was hopping on one leg, muttering a few curses as Bass Armstrong had been knocked into a crater and apparently had be knocked unconscious.

"Wow, he beat Daddy…" Tina said with awe in her tone.

"You sure?" Miguel asked and gestured to Bass, who was starting to get up, much to Takashi's dismay.

"Are you freaking kidding me?" he exclaimed as the pro-wrestler got up, panting from the fighting and his shades being destroyed, showing his eyes flashing with anger.

"Oh man…" Takashi gulped as he braced himself for another onslaught from the elder Armstrong.

"Heh, kid, I gotta admit, that's one heck of a move you pulled, thought you'd break my skull with that one" Bass smirked, much to Takashi's surprise.

"Uh…thank you sir?" he looked confused, wondering what his aim was. He watched Bass stumble out of the crater, unfortunately to promptly fall and leave a human sized hole where he blacked out on.

"Takashi Kaido is the winner!" the Kaido boy heard the propter declare as he sighed, then tried putting his foot down, unfortunately to feel a jolt of pain rip through him when he set it down.

"Let's get you to the medical room," Miguel said as he slung Takashi's arm over his shoulder and supported him. Takashi nodded before he felt Tina's lips peck his cheek as he saw the model/rockstar/actress/wrestler walked beside him.

"Consider that your consolation victory prize for fighting me" Tina beamed and (somehow) picked up her dad and helped carry him to the medical room. Takashi blushed, and whether it was from embarrassment or exhaustion, he promptly blacked out.

* * *

**Well Takashi and Miguel managed to win their fights...even though they switched fighters, they still won and get to move on, now i might skip the rest of the fights due to laziness so...sorry ^^; anyway R&R plz**


	17. Pack Leader

**Ok, so sorry for the lack of updates, but there's a reason for that...procrastination, and i've been having writer's block,and laziness, and family issues, and money issues, and video games, so...sorry for that ^^; and also, if i'm going to make a soul calibur sequel...probably not, idk, depends on the mood and ideas for it, i've been fresh out of both lately. Anyway enjoy this long awaited chapter ^^**

* * *

**Chapter 16: The Pack Leader, Zell vs. Hayate**

Takashi began to stir as he started waking up, his body aching from his fight with Tina and Bass Armstrong, mostly Bass. His head was swimming around as he was trying to move, but every bone that wasn't sprained or hurt told him to stay in bed and not move. A groan escaped his lips as he felt a cold rag place on his forehead, glancing to his right, he saw Lisa writing something down, along with an IV needle in his right arm and a heart monitor.

"Oh good, you're up" Lisa smiled when she saw Takashi looking at her.

"Wha…how long was I out?" the Kaido boy asked, groaning from the pain.

"A few hours, your body heals fast though, not many people can fight against Tina and Bass and survive with a few fractured bones" Lisa said as she went to the medical cabinet to get some more supplies, glancing to his left, his eyes bugged out when he saw Bass out cold on a much larger and reinforced bed to compensate for his size and weight.

"How did you…wait, never mind, I don't want to know…" Takashi stated as he sat up in the bed.

"What have I missed?" he asked the nurse.

"Well not much, you and Miguel are advancing in the next round, the others are taking a break, Zell and Hayate's fight will be next," Lisa explained.

"And...Kasumi?" the Kaido boy asked nervously.

"She's been worried about you a lot, came by a couple of hours ago to check on you, Tina too, after she got patched up" Lisa added, when a knock was heard, to Takashi, that knock was very familiar.

Kasumi stepped in, saw Takashi was awake, then ran over and hugged him close, causing him to blush from this, even though he had gotten used to her embrace, and the scent of strawberries she would be used to smell like.

"You're awake…" she whispered softly with relief in her voice.

"Sorry if I scared you…" Takashi replied as he rubbed her back and smiled at her face.

"It's ok…Though I'm surprised you can move after that fight with Bass, most men can't stand for a week after fighting him, or Tina together," Kasumi giggled a little from that statement.

"I'm not like most men…" Takashi blinked when he realized what he said, "That came out wrong" he added while scratching his head nervously.

"It's ok, I understand what you meant" the kunoichi replied and pecked his cheek softly. Takashi blushed but pecked her cheek in response.

"Um…did I miss lunch?" Takashi asked, scratching the back of his head in slight nervousness, and his stomach growled to show his hungriness.

"I wouldn't eat food after what you went through, you'll end up vomiting it up either way, just rest for a while and let your body take things slow" Lisa explained from the corner of the room.

"Ok…" Takashi looked at Kasumi, then the doctor, "then...can I see the next match?" he asked.

"Sure, there's a TV you can use over there" Lisa replied, showing where the large flat screen was, right in front of him, hanging from the wall, with the remote right next to his bedside table.

After smacking himself in the forehead, he grabbed the remote and switched to the channel that was showing the live feed of the fight, surprised, as was Kasumi, when they both saw Zell and Hayate entering the ring.

"Oh this won't end well…" Takashi stated as he leaned back in his bed. Kasumi nodded, but gripped the bed sheets slightly, nervous, hoping her brother would win, but at the same time wondering how Zell would do against her brother.

* * *

Zell himself was getting ready for his fight with Hayate, he knew the Mugen Tenshi's leader was strong so he'd have to be stronger too, which made it more complicated.

"Why did I have to be chosen to fight him?" the wolf asked himself as he rubbing his temples to try and get rid of the slight headache going on.

"Need a hand?" a familiar voice asked, forcing Zell to look up and see a water bottle with Ayane holding it, smiling slightly.

"Oh, thanks" Zell said, drinking the water, it didn't do much but it certainly helped with keeping his mind cool.

"I guess you're nervous about fighting Master Hayate?" Ayane aside while she sat down next to him, crossing a leg on her other leg.

"Very nervous…" Zell replied as he took another sip.

"I know, not as nervous as Kasumi is for him though, she wants you to win, but also wants you to win as well, she's a wreck," Ayane giggled with slight glee from that statement.

"I had a feeling you'd enjoy seeing her like that" Zell muttered to himself.

"That's beside the point, the point is you need to win, remember, we need to get Donovan, otherwise he'll keep hurting our clan like what he did with the Alpha, and Hayate, and Tarou," Ayane said.

"you know about him?" Zell asked, surprised that she knew of Takashi's elder brother.

"Takashi only told me what he knew, but I got a bad feeling that Donovan did something to him…" Ayane looked down a bit of sadness in her eyes, "Just…be careful ok?" she asked, looking at his eyes.

"Ayane, it's me, you know I'll be alright" Zell replied with a grin.

"That's why I worry about you sometimes, you know?" Ayane asked before hugging him tightly. Zell hugged back, squeezing her softly to reassure her before getting up to head to the arena.

"Well, guess it's time to see if Hayate deserves his rank as Clan leader," Zell muttered as the elevator went down and he walked into the arena, seeing Hayate coming up as well.

"Well, guess we got to fight, huh?" Zell asked Hayate nonchalantly.

"Looks like it, good luck ok?" Hayate asked as he shook Zell's hand.

The wolf teen replied with a handshake as well as the bell rang and they both got into their fighting positions. Zell launched at Hayate and preformed a series of kicks and punches at Hayate, while the Mugen Tenshi leader blocked, then side-stepped and swung his leg at his side.

Zell got hit and winced from it, stumbling back in pain and holding his side, he quickly ran at Hayate and swept his leg under his feet to take Hayate off his guard, once he did he delivered a heel drop on him, causing the leader to be sent crashing into the ground, causing cracks to appear below him on the impact center.

* * *

"Ouch…that had to hurt" Takashi said when he saw Zell deliver the kick.

"Hayate…" Kasumi mumbled as she held her hand tighter in Takashi's worried for her brother's safety.

Takashi noticed this and decided to find a way to calm her down, then remembered one of her hobbies and had an idea.

"Hey Kasumi, can you tell me my fortune?" he asked as he looked at her.

"You mean a Tarot reading? Sure, I wouldn't mind that" Kasumi said, knowing why he suggested it, then went and left the room before returning a few minutes later with her cards, smiling happily.

* * *

Ayane meanwhile was watching Zell and Hayate fight, she wanted to cheer Zell on, but she thought she'd alienate her master Hayate. So far, Zell and Hayate were matched, each ninja trading another blow to each other, but both were sweating and panting hard from exchanging blows.

"Damn Hayate…never knew you were this good…" Zell panted, sweat dripping from his dirt covered face as he looked at the Mugen Tenshi leader.

"I'm the Mugen Tenshi leader, of course I'm good," Hayate smirked as he panted from exhaustion.

"Good, this means that I can be serious," Zell smirked before charging at Hayate and punching him in the face, then swept his leg under his feet and slammed his heel down on Hayate like before, crashing him down onto the ground, also like before.

Hayate gagged as he grabbed Zell's leg and pushed it up, then swung him around; Zell however twisted his leg and turned in the opposite direction, forcing Hayate to let go just as he got a foot slam into his face.

"Ooh that had to hurt," Zack cringed from seeing the impact.

Hayate stumbled back, but soon was assaulted by a barrage of kicks and punched from Zell, ultimately resulting Zell grabbing Hayate, swinging him onto the ground and punching him in the gut, causing a crater to form under him.

Hayate groaned in pain, unable to get up from the punch, and mostly since he thought Zell might've sprained a few bones…and broken a rib here or there.

"Ok…you win" Hayate groaned.

"Sorry about going all out on you man," Zell said as he helped Hayate up, then helped him to the stretcher and watched the doctors and nurses take him to the med-wing.

"Zell that was awesome!" Lisa chirped happily to him, then hugged him quickly, causing him to blush.

Zell glanced at Ayane, who shot him a dark look, then an envious look at Lisa, then walked away. Zell looked at her leave and then went after her once Lisa let go to let him chase her, "Ayane, wait!" he called to her.

The violet kunoichi stopped and then hugged him, to which he hugged back. "You ok?" Zell asked her softly.

She shook her head slowly.

"Worried for Hayate?"

She nodded.

"Want to go see him with me?" he asked.

"Yes" Ayane said softly, then held his arm and walked beside him to the infirmary, smiling softly.

* * *

"Come on Kasu-chan, one more fortune" Takashi pleaded to her as the two sat with the tarot cards on the table.

"Takashi" Kasumi giggled, "I already showed you all the fortunes you'd get, what more do you want?" she asked him with a little smile on her face.

The two had been reading tarots for a few minutes, occasionally stopping to watch the fight, until they brought Hayate into the room, groaning from his injuries but alive. Kasumi's sisterly intuition forced them to stop while she watched them fix up her brother, then let him sleep, so they resumed their reading, which had gone through all the readings of fortune, spirit, future, that stuff, except one.

Love.

"Please Kasumi, one more reading?" Takashi asked nicely.

"Oh fine…only because you said 'please'" Kasumi smiled and laid out the cards, then traced his palm.

Takashi watched her expression change, to one of happiness, to sorrow, then to a blush as she flipped the cards.

"Well?" he asked impatiently.

"W-well, you'll get married and have two kids, boy and girl, and a loving wife," Kasumi said softly, glancing away a bit.

"Awesome, what else?" he asked eagerly.

"Well…she's beautiful, and is great with kids," Kasumi added, trying to hide her blush as she packed the cards up.

"Well, who is it?"

"Who's who?" she asked him.

"the lucky girl, who is she?" he asked, thinking of a list of people he knew, which wasn't much.

Before Kasumi could answer, Zell and Ayane came in, then looked at Hayate as Ayane ran to him to check up on him while Zell watched.

"So, what's up? Feeling better?" he asked Takashi.

"Good, bones hurt but I'll heal," Takashi smirked.

"And you Kasumi?" the wolf asked the kunoichi, noticing her blush but pretended not to notice.

"Fine, did some tarot readings, well, um, I better head to my room now, take care Zell," Kasumi replied, kissing Takashi's cheek and hurried off.

"She ok?" the wolf asked the hawk, to which he shrugged.

"Got a deck of cards?" Takashi asked, to which Zell pulled out a deck an smirked.

"Poker anyone?" Zell asked with a wolfish grin on his face.

* * *

**So Zell beats Hayate, Kasumi hints of Takashi's love life, and now there's poker involved, what'll happen next? well stay tuned...or R&R my stories while u wait...although if things go as they are that'll be a long time. Anyway, laters!**


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